Omni Aeternitate
by violin1027
Summary: He snickered darkly, and whispered, "The answer, il mio piccola, is quite simple. You are mine." BellaXAro
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Violin1027 here. So, it's my first fanfic, and the title means "For All Eternity". I decided to do a Bella/Aro story. I always imagined Aro as younger and less creepy than how they portray him in the movies, but I still love the Volturi in the movie. By the way, Sulpicia is NOT alive in this story. She was once, but not anymore. For now, the rating will be T for cursing, may go up. It depends. Reviews (constructive criticism) is appreciated, and looking for a beta! No flames please! It's my first fanfic, so be nice please. Virtual cookies to anyone who reviews.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, just the plot. The characters belong to the ever lovely Stephanie Meyer!

Now on with the story :)

* * *

BPOV:

"Edward, no!" Panting heavily, adrenaline rushing through my system, I sprinted across the fountain and threw myself at him. "It's ok, I'm here. Look at me, I'm alive!"

As he stumbled dazedly back into the clock tower before anyone of importance saw him, he murmured, "This is a dream. Bella, you're not here."

"I'm here, Edward. I love you so much. Open your eyes and look at me, please." He did, and shook his head, as if I wasn't really there. He peppered me with kisses, spending a longer time near my pulse point. I didn't think anything of it at the time, my mind was still in a daze. Then, he kissed me passionately, while I tried to convey all of my love for him in that one kiss.

Our reunion was cut short by the sound of footsteps reverberating through the cavernous hall. I looked up and saw two vampires, both with blood-red eyes. They grinned at me, and I smiled back tentatively, not as afraid as I should have been. Something in their demeanor told me that they would protect me. Edward growled and roughly pushed me behind him, as I let out a whimper of pain. Edward said, "Felix. Demetri. It seems we won't be requiring the Volturi's services anymore," coating every word with menace.

The two human-eating vampires who I now knew were Felix and Demetri shifted their posture into a battle stance and Demetri whispered a thinly-veiled threat. "Let her go, Edward." Felix knocked Edward out of the way with his brute strength and picked me up, careful to not aggravate my now black and blue shoulder and arm.

At that moment, Alice entered the clock tower, leaving the door open so that a brawl wouldn't break out. She glanced at me sympathetically and mouthed, "I am so sorry,". Aloud, she chirped, "Now, now, gentlemen. There are ladies in the room. Let's not make a scene, shall we? We'll come with you."

Edward now had venom streaking down his face, and he looked totally insane in that moment. "Like hell we will, Alice! We're taking Bella and going back home to Forks, or better yet, to some secluded countryside." At this point, I was terrified and looking to Alice for some reassurance. She gave me none, looking very tense herself.

We heard the click of her mary janes before we saw her. I knew her, she was one of the Witch Twins. Jane Volturi, the one with the ability to cause immense pain. She drawled, "Master Aro sent me to see what was taking so long," and smiled at me. What was going on?

"Jane," all the vampires said. Edward sobered up and just let out a snarl.

"We must not keep the masters waiting. Come," Jane proclaimed. Alice and Felix flanked me, always keeping keen eyes on Edward. Jane escorted Edward, her beautiful face marred by the disgust so clearly expressed on it. Demetri led us down the corridor and to the elevator.

During the walk, I asked Alice, "What's happening, Alice? I don't understand!"

She sighed, looking disheveled and not at all looking like her perfectly-dressed usual self. "It is not my place to tell you. All in due time. Just follow your instincts."

Alice wouldn't give me another answer, so I looked inquisitively towards Felix, Demetri, and Jane. They all shook their heads and bowed them down. We came to a stop in front of an immaculately clean desk with a secretary behind it. With a heavy Italian accent, she brightly said, "Welcome back!" and greeted Demetri with a peck on the lips.

I wondered, "Is she..."

"Human," Alice finished.

"Why?" Realization dawned on me. "She wants to be..."

"And so she will be," smirked Demetri.

The secretary, Gianna, pressed a button and spoke on her headset. "Master Aro, they are here." After nodding once, she addressed us once again. "The masters are expecting you. They are impatient."

Foreboding and something else I could not quite place began to pool at the pit of my stomach. My heartbeat must have increased because the Volturi vampires turned to me and chuckled while Alice tried to sooth my growing panic. Damn vampire super hearing!

Jane pushed heavy, intricately carved wooden doors open to reveal a vast hall made entirely of marble. Then, I saw Marcus, looking heartwrenchingly sad, Caius, scowling at anything and anyone, and _him_.

* * *

APOV

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid your particular gifts are too valuable to destroy. If you are, however, unhappy with your coven, you are welcome to join us." I cloaked my burning hatred for the mere boy in front of me and what he had done by usual diplomatic facade.

My brother Marcus declared, "The Volturi do not kill without cause," in his customary grave voice. With one last forlorn and deranged look, the boy was gone, a determined gleam in his eyes.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Caius asked, "What happened, Aro?"

I exploded, enraged. "How dare he? He has been toying with a human, Bella, looking for the right time to drain her blood. She is his _La Suo Cantante_. He left her, and she was so heartbroken that she committed suicide! She was-"

Marcus, ever the wise one, interjected, "Calm down, brother. She is alive. I can not tell who she is bonded to because they need to be within sight, but I can tell that she is alive and healthy because her bonds are still there. However, how could he do such a thing?"

Caius stated, "That is a vile thing to do, but all matters aside brothers, Cullen WILL expose himself to humans so he provokes us into killing him. How do we stop him?"

Only the Elite Guard, made of Jane, Alec, Felix, Demetri, Renata, and Chelsea were in the room with us, so they heard everything we had just said. They were just as furious with Cullen as Caius, Marcus, and I were. "Felix, Demetri, go stop Cullen from exposing our existence and bring everyone with him back here. He must be brought back at all costs, preferably with dear Bella and Alice. Jane, assist them if it take too long. All of you are dismissed." They bowed to us and left us alone.

When the door opened again, I saw _her_.

* * *

BPOV

There, in the center throne, sat Aro Volturi in all his glory. He was a Greek god and darkly handsome with his pale skin, chiseled nose, straight jet black hair pulled back with a clip, and ruby red lips. He exuded sheer masculinity and power that shook me to the bone and excited me in ways I couldn't explain. I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. I was snapped out of my reverie by a boy that could only be Alec. "They send you for one and you come back with two and a half. Such a clever girl." Alec smiled at me and kissed Jane's cheek.

When Aro, who was previously glowering at Edward, turned to look at me, our eyes met. In that moment, I felt completely, utterly, blissfully happy and complete. A spark jolted through me and without registering what I was doing, I stepped towards him as if in a trance. Aro looked surprised and overjoyed. Why? Marcus swiftly grabbed Aro's hand, and Aro beamed like a kid at the candy store. Aro started to glide towards me, when Edward went berserk. He struggled futilely against Felix and Demetri, snapping and growling in vain. With a look from Jane, he was tortured.

My attention returned to Aro when he stalked towards me, a predator stalking his prey. His shark-like grin only widened when I stayed frozen like a deer frozen in headlights. My breathing came in shallow pants and my heart rate shot up as he circled around me. He purred, "Isabella. _Così bella. Sei mio!_" and pulled me against him. His voice was smooth, masculine, asserted his dominance, and was wholly sexy. I melted into the hard, sculpted contours of his chest, feeling safe and protected against all odds. His scent was overwhelming and calming, of old books and pine.

Edward reacted violently, presumably to something Aro thought, and roared, "No! You can't! You bastard, she belongs with me! Bella, don't listen to anything anyone says! They're all lying, even Alice! Just come home with me, and we can be happy, and I will keep you isolated from everyone else!"

Once again, Edward found himself enduring Jane's torture. That stopped when I yelled, "What the hell is going on? Alice? Edward? Anyone? Just tell me!"

Alice shook her head and looked like she was about to cry. "Like I said, Bella. It isn't my place to tell you. Just trust yourself and Master Aro."

Aro licked the shell of my ear with his icy tongue, sending pleasurable shivers through my body. He snickered darkly, and whispered, "The answer, _il mio piccola_, is quite simple. It seems that you and I are soul mates. You are mine."

I promptly felt the world darken around me, and the last thing I registered was a pair of strong, muscular arms catch me before I drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

A/N:

La suo cantante - his singer

Così bella. Sei mio. - So beautiful. You're mine.

Il mio piccola - My little one.

Review please!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm back! I can't thank all of you enough for your reviews, follows, and favorites! I'm beyond thrilled and watching my inbox get filled with all of it really made my day, especially because it's my first fanfic. Aro is also beyond happy and gives you all a virtual kiss and cookie XD

In response to AnaBookWorm, firstly, thank you, and secondly, La Tua Cantante means _your_ singer. According to Google Translate, La Suo Cantante is _his_ singer since our favorite shmexy vampire is talking about it to Marcus and Caius. If anyone speaks Italian, could you please tell me if this (and all the other Italian) is right? I'm only fluent-ish in French.

NellyBear85, thanks for taking the time to review. I always saw Aro as someone changed when he was 23 or 24. If Bella is 18 now, the age difference is not that bad. Caius would have been changed when he was 21 or 22. Marcus would have been changed when he was 27 or 30. When I think vampire, I think relatively young, so yeah... I've read your story and it's very interesting. Also, there are plenty of stories where Bella is Aro's mate. I hope that I do a good job with this story and keep your interest!

Still desperately looking for a beta! If anyone is interested, please PM me! Just so you know, the rating is probably going to go up to M with possibly lemons.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot.

As always, please review and give me constructive criticism! No flames (nobody likes them).

On with the show!

* * *

BPOV

I promptly felt the world darken around me, and the last thing I registered was a pair of strong muscular arms catch me before I drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

APOV

When I turned and our eyes connected, I was instantly mesmerized. A spark jolted through me, and I felt as I had never felt before. Her voluptuous body was filled in all the right places, and her soulful, doe- like, chocolate brown eyes peered up at me through thick lashes. They were doing strange things to my insides. In short, she was ravishing. She looked as confused, if not as confused as I was. The pull I was feeling to her only intensified as time went by, and I was putting the pieces together when Marcus grabbed my hand, only to confirm my previous deduction.

This lovely creature was my mate, my other (better) half, and predestined for me alone. She had bewitched me, mind, body, and soul (if I had one) in a matter of seconds. My smile grew wider in that moment. With purpose, I rose from my ornate throne and began to advance towards my Isabella. As Edward heard my thoughts, he fought his captors, and instantaneously, Jane had him writhing in pain. As I continued my gait to Isabella, uninterrupted, her breathing became heavier and heavier, much to my amusement. I circled her slowly, deliberately. My proximity sent a blush throughout her body, delightfully accenting her bright brown orbs. I pulled her flush against me, murmuring, "Isabella. Così bella. Sei mio!" She relaxed against me. She would be with me for all eternity, as my wife and queen.

All at once, Cullen yelled, "No! You can't! You bastard! She belongs with me! Bella, don't listen to anything anyone says! They're all lying, even Alice! Just come home with me, and we can be happy. I will keep you isolated from everyone else!" Jane just tortured him.

Unexpectedly, my angel burst out, "What the hell is going on? Alice? Edward? Anyone? Just tell me!" That's my little spitfire!

Alice shook her head and looked like she was about to cry. "Like I said, Bella, it isn't my place to tell you. Just trust yourself and Master Aro."

In response, I licked the shell of her ear, drinking in her sweet smell of freesias and strawberries. It was heaven. I snickered darkly and whispered, "The answer, il mio piccola, is quite simple. It seems that you and I are soul mates. You are mine." In her shock, she fainted in my arms.

* * *

BPOV

When I awoke, I was dimly aware of being in a pair of cold strong arms and the buzzing of voices, namely one in particular. "Bella! Bella!" Alice cried worriedly. I opened my eyes groggily to find Alice, literally, right in front of my face. "Bella! We were so scared!"

"What happened? You can't be here. You're a dream. If I close my eyes, you'll disappear." I closed my eyes and memories came flooding back to me. Alice. Plane. Yellow Porsche. Clock tower. Edward. Demetri and Felix. Volturi. Aro. Mate. I snapped my eyes open, and my breathing came out in panicked gasps as I wrenched myself from Aro's amazingly comforting grasp.

"Breathe, Bella, breathe."

"No, no, no, I thought Edward was my mate. It's what you all told me." Aro's face darkened, and he growled. Alice pleaded with him through her eyes to let her explain. He simply nodded.

"No, Bella. It's what he lead us to believe. You have to trust me when I say I had no clue, until I had a vision."

Aro demanded sharply, "What vision?"

"It was actually a combination of many visions I got the day I left for Forks to get you. Since Edward was far away, he didn't read my mind. Bella, I'm so sorry, but they all ended the same way. You were drained, and Edward was the one to do it. He made the decision to drain you then. I'm so sorry. I didn't see it sooner." She looked so disappointed and ashamed.

It can't be true. It can't. Her next words shocked me. "Just after I had these visions, I had the most important one. It was a ball for you, Bella. Master Aro announced you as his mate, wife, and queen. It was your coronation. You belong here."

Aro looked disgusted at Edward as he verified the truth of her statements by grabbing her hand. "It's all true, every last ounce of it." To me, he said, "Cullen was going to drink your blood, because he could not withstand the temptation any longer. You are also, indeed, my mate. Marcus agrees a well. You are mine!" His voice was perfection that sent tremors of desire coursing through my body.

I rounded on Edward in pure rage, shouting, "What the fuck have I ever done to you? I loved you, and this is how you repay me? Fuck you! You kept me from my true mate?"

Edward retaliated, "Please, Bella, Alice is not telling the truth! She is spinning lies to make you hate me! She has always despised me, because I am perfect, and Carlisle and Esme love me more than her! Let me take you home, and we can go to a secluded cabin in the woods where we can live in peace until you die! I will not let you be turned!"

From my perspective, I could clearly see that he was delusional. "Edward, you're insane! After what you've done, I will never come near you again, let alone be secluded off in the woods with you! You will not keep me from Aro!"

Aro ordered, "Alec, cut off his senses and keep him in the dungeons until his trial," with an authoritative edge in his voice that demanded respect.

Alec asked, "What about the seer?"

"Leave her be. She has done no wrong." Alec and Jane bowed and left the room.

Caius spoke, barely containing his wrath, surprising me. "Demetri, Felix, leave us." The rest of the guards raced out of the room, leaving only myself, Alice, Marcus, Caius, and Aro.

I let out a long, shaky breath and turned around to face my fate.

* * *

CPOV

When the little human entered the room, I felt protective of her as a brother would. Why? I don't know. It wasn't that she was my mate. That was clearly Aro, by the way they was looking at each other. Besides, Athena was my soulmate. I loved her. Every time Cullen growled, I longed to be the one to torture him slowly and painfully, instead of Jane. Every fiber of my being was telling me that I would protect her and become her brother.

Before I met Athena, my heart was cold, rough. Nobody knew enough about me besides Aro and Caius to say they actually KNEW me. When Athena came into my life, she softened my icy exterior a little. When I saw Bella, I actually felt my heart grow a couple of sizes. Then, my heart softened a little more because of someone else.

* * *

MPOV

I couldn't believe what I saw when I saw Isabella's bonds. They were some of the strongest bonds I have ever seen! Her bond with Aro was that of a soul mate, a glowing pink and gold. It was the epitome of a perfect bond: colorful, bright, and thick. I was amazed. Caius and she were bonded as brother and sister, and I saw that they would truly get along wonderfully. As far as our bonds went, she was like my daughter.

Alice Cullen was like her sister. Isabella's bond with Edward was one of hate, pitch black and mangled beyond repair. It was ripped, tattered, and completely disfigured. In all honesty, it was a gruesome thing to behold.

Maybe Bella will be the light in my life after my dear Didyme died. Contrary to popular belief, she was killed by werewolves on a mission. Since I became depressed, Caius and Aro made it their mission to rid the face of this Earth from werewolves, in order to avenge their beloved sister's death.

* * *

APOV

Needless to say, I was seething. My calm ruler mask was slipping, and I wanted to maim and kill Edward Cullen with my bare hands. Ignoble fool! When I could take no more of his demented ways, I ordered Alec and Jane to keep him in our dungeons until my brothers and I calmed down to hold a trial. Although, it is obvious what the outcome will be.

When Caius told Demetri and Felix to get out, Bella turned to watch them go. After a pregnant pause, she turned around to look at us.

* * *

BPOV

When I reluctantly pivoted, I found Alice and the three kings staring intently me. Caius was the first to break the silence. "Forgive me, cara, we have not yet properly introduced ourselves. I am Caius, the one in the middle is Aro, and next to him is Marcus. We are the Volturi brothers."

I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out. My previous confidence had abandoned me. Marcus chuckled and said, "Welcome, amato, to Volturi castle. We are truly happy that you and Alice are here."

Aro spoke like liquid gold. "Amore, it appears that we have much to discuss. Marcus, if you would?"

"Amato, as you may or may not be aware, my power is to see bonds between two people. You and Ms. Cullen are bonded like sisters. You two are inseparable."

I whispered, "I already knew that," sending her a small smile. She smiled back and squeezed my hand.

"I thought you would. To myself, you are like my daughter, and I, your father."

"What about Charlie?"

"He is still your biological father, but now you are part of this family, so I am also your father."

"How am I a part of this family?" This was very unnerving, but real. I could relate to Marcus in only way that a daughter would.

"Well, you are my daughter. If that is not cause enough, to Caius, you are like a sister. He is your brother. You two shall get along famously, but you will have fights as all brothers and sisters will. It is a wonderful bond to have. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, you and Aro are soulmates. Your bond is one of the strongest and most beautiful I have had the pleasure of seeing."

"So, this is all real?"

Aro answered indignantly, "Yes, of course it's real, amore mio. Do you not feel the bond between us?" His voice then became very seductive. "You do. I can tell by the way you reacted when we first met." He glided towards me and stopped in front of me. He placed feather light kisses up the column of my throat, coming closer and closer to my mouth, inciting such wonderful passion, and dare I say it, love, within me. When he kissed me, my instinctive response was to moan and tangle my hands in his silken locks. I felt positively alive as our tongues locked in a battle of dominance that Aro won.

When he pulled back, I whimpered, and everyone laughed. Marcus exclaimed, "Aro, I didn't need to see my daughter fervently kissing you," to which I blushed hard, mortified.

Aro said smugly, "Now, do you believe me?"

I nodded and buried my face in his chest, not wanting to be apart from him. The bond was extremely strong, and not being near him was NOT an option.

I could hear Alice's smirk. "Never bet against a psychic!"

Caius, Marcus, and Aro laughed, and I growled. They laughed even harder.

* * *

A/N: Anyone see the Pride and Prejudice references? Or the Grinch Who Stole Christmas references? I couldn't resist :D

Cara - dear

Amato - Darling/dear

Amore - love

Review please!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you to all my wonderful reviewers, favoriters, and followers! You guys are the best! When I see a new review, I get a warm, fuzzy feeling in me :) As for all the concerns about the Cullens, yes, they will be there at the trial. I can't give much more away now, but read and see. This chapter has a lot more explanations about the Cullens, and I felt it was needed as much as it detracted from the Aro and Bella moments. **

**Also, a HUMONGOUS thank you to my amazing beta, flamingpen18! I've uploaded the beta'd chapters 1 and 2 as well.**

**Another thing, I won't be able to update until sometime around the second week of June. I'll be out of town from the 15th and I will have absolutely NO time to write. I tried to give you guys an extra long chapter to make up for it though! If I can, I'll try and post another chapter before I leave, but no promises.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, Stephanie Meyer does. I wish I did, though. Does that count for anything?**

**Let's get this show on the road!**

* * *

BPOV

Aro said smugly, "Now, do you believe me?"

I nodded and buried my face in his chest, not wanting to be apart from him. The bond was extremely strong, and not being near him was NOT an option.

I could hear Alice's smirk. "Never bet against a psychic!"

Caius, Marcus, and Aro laughed, and I growled. They laughed even harder.

* * *

AlPOV

We were with our cousins, the Denalis, in Alaska. Of course, Edward wasn't with us. He had run away, depressed that Bella had broken up with him. How could she break up with him? I would have seen it! She didn't know how to evade my gift like Edward did. Surely she would have made the decision to break up with him ahead of time, and I would have seen it coming! I refused to believe that Bella broke up with him, or that she told him that she never wanted to see us again. It wasn't like her at all.

We were all heartbroken. In fact, we seemed sadder about it than Edward was. I had talked to Jasper, and he said that there was no depression coming from Edward. There was happiness, and a sense of relief. Even when Edward and Bella were together, Jasper never felt love, only lust. Jasper and I, instantly, suspected that something was amiss. When Edward asked me to not look into Bella's future, I was hesitant, because things weren't adding up. I only listened because Carlisle and Esme asked me to respect Edward's privacy. If I did, Edward would have read my mind and would have complained to them. Of course, anything Edward wanted would take precedence over anything the rest of us wanted, because Edward was Carlisle's first son. Hell, he's younger than all of us. Therefore, he's less mature both physically and mentally than we are! He's the golden boy, and if Jasper or I went against his wishes, Carlisle would be very disappointed in us. It was only out of sheer respect for Carlisle that I didn't look into Bella's future. Emmett and Rosalie also thought that something was fishy.

Now, Edward was far gone, somewhere in Russia. So, I could think without having my secrets bared. Finally, I could check in on my sister, even if she didn't want us. My intuition was telling me that Bella would not have done it. When I did look for her future, I saw a shell of her former self. She was having a nightmare, reliving the time when Edward dumped her and told her that he never loved her. Poor Bella! I will murder Fuckward the next time I see him!

As I kept looking, my visions became darker and more horrible. They all ended the same way. Bella's body bleeding, and her face forever frozen in numbing fear. Edward standing on top of her with bright red eyes and laughing hysterically. I started sobbing uncontrollably, and Jasper was by my side in an millisecond, sensing my distress. I told him what happened, and I had to restrain him from storming out of the house and murdering the bastard himself.

At that point, Jasper and I made a decision to take Bella somewhere where Edward couldn't hurt her. Then, I had another vision. This one more shocking than the last few. It was Aro, presiding over the happenings of a ball. Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and I were there. Once everyone had quieted enough for him to make an announcement, he cleared his throat, unnecessarily, and began. "Thank you all for attending. This ball is being held in honor of my mate, wife, and queen, Isabella Volturi." Emerging from the shadows to stand next to Aro was a very vampire Bella. She was beautiful in an iridescent gown of black leather and lace from Valentino and looking every inch the part of a vampire queen. (A/N: Look it up. It's so pretty!) It was one of the seldom visions that I had that weren't based on decisions and were entirely set in stone.

Then, I had a vision of Bella cliff diving and Jacob saving her. Perfect.

I knew I had to get Bella to Volterra as soon as possible. I made a plan with Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie. Em and Rose were beyond angry when they heard of Fuckward's misdeeds. Carlisle and Esme weren't included in it, because they would not believe their favorite son had done something so despicable. Rosalie, being the calmest out of all of us, would call Edward to say that I had a vision that Bella had committed suicide by cliff diving. I could already see my decision's outcome. Edward would call Bella's house and Jacob, the mutt, would confirm that Charlie was planning a funeral. He wouldn't say whose. Then, Edward would be livid that he hadn't tasted her blood. So, deciding that he couldn't live without having her blood, he would leave for the Volturi and ask for death on the pretense that he had lost his mate. Idiot! Did he forget about Master Aro's gift? At least, we had him right where we wanted him.

Jaz, Rose, and Em would stay at home so our plan wasn't foiled by Carlisle and Esme. I had no doubt that if we were discovered, we would be screwed. They needed evidence before they would believe anything we said, if they believed us at all.

I took off for Forks as fast as my legs could carry me. When I got there, I pretended to be shocked that Bella was alive. I had set it up so that she and Jacob thought that I couldn't see past him and his pack of mutts. As if! I told Bella that Edward was committing suicide by provoking the Volturi, just not why. She still thought she loved him. Oh well, that changed soon enough. The good thing is that she came with me to Volterra. It was her destiny. Apparently, it was mine, Jaz's, Em's, and Rose's too.

When we got to Volterra, I made Bella save Fuckward by herself. If I had been the one to do it, he would have heard my plan too soon and all of our work would have been for naught. I waited until Bella had consoled him, and Felix and Demetri had arrived to get within the range of his power. I entered the clock tower and left the door open so Fuckward wouldn't start a fight. Moron. I probably looked like a mess. To Bella, I mouthed, "I'm so sorry," and I was. I was sorry for all the hurt and trouble I could have saved her, if I had seen that Aro was her soul mate sooner. I was sorry for my family's hurtful action, and I was sorry for everything. I forced my voice to be happy and chirped to Demetri and Felix, "Now, now, gentlemen, there are ladies in the room. Let's not make a scene, shall we? We'll come with you." It was directed more towards Edward, daring him to correct me.

He did. With venom running down his face, he screeched, "Like hell we will, Alice! We're taking Bella and going back home to Forks, or better yet, to some secluded countryside." Bella was petrified. Edward was scaring her. I'm quite certain that my body language showed that I was not at all pleased at the moment. She looked at me for some reassurance, but I was too angry and anxious to give her any. I was scared that Edward wouldn't cooperate, and I wouldn't get Bella to meet Aro.

At that moment, Jane arrived. A relieved smile lit up my face. Edward was beat. "Master Aro sent me to see what was taking so long." When she smiled at Bella, I knew right away that Aro had told the guards about Edward's scheme.

"Jane," we all inclined our heads. Edward growled at my thoughts. I cursed like a sailor in my mind at him. There was nothing he could do anymore, and my plan was working!

"We must not keep the masters waiting. Come," she drawled. When she smiled at Isabella, I knew that Master Aro had, at least, told the Elite Guard of Edward's intentions towards Bella.

Felix and I flanked Bella protectively, always keeping keen eyes on Edward. Jane escorted him. Her beautiful face marred by the disgust so clearly expressed on it. Demetri led us down the corridor and to the elevator. While we were walking, Bella asked me, "What's happening, Alice? I don't understand!"

I just sighed. How to answer? It wasn't mine to tell. "It is not my place to tell you. All in due time. Just follow your instincts." Bella was thoroughly confused, so she looked to the Volturi vampires for answers.

They all shook their heads and bowed them down. We came to a stop in front of an immaculately clean desk with a secretary behind it. With a heavy Italian accent, she brightly said, "Welcome back!" and greeted Demetri with a peck on the lips.

Bella wondered. "Is she..."

"Human," I finished.

"Why?" Realization dawned on her. "She wants to be..."

"And, so she will be," smirked Demetri. They were mates. How sweet!

The secretary, Gianna, pressed a button and spoke into her headset. "Master Aro, they are here." After nodding once, she addressed us once again. "The masters are expecting you. They are impatient."

Bella's heart rate grew more rapid, and we could hear it as clearly as the slamming of a door. Jane, Demetri, and Felix laughed at her, while I tried to comfort her through my body language. I don't really think it worked. On the bright side, I could tell she was feeling the mating pull.

When Jane opened the door, I was happy for Bella. She deserved true love, and if she got it from Master Aro, then so be it. When Master Aro and Bella connected eyes, I knew I had done the right thing. Master Aro had figured out that they were mates by the time Master Marcus showed him their bond. Master Aro rose from his throne and stalked towards Bella, not stopping when Edward tried to fight Felix and Demetri, and Jane tortured him. When he reached her, he circled her, arousing her by his mere presence. And, what a powerful presence it was. She blushed, and Aro seemed delighted. He pulled her to him, murmuring, "Isabella. Così bella. Sei mio!"

Fuckward was outraged at something Aro had thought and yelled, "No! You can't! You bastard! She belongs with me! Bella, don't listen to anything anyone says! They're all lying, even Alice! Just come home with me, and we can be happy. I will keep you isolated from everyone else!" Jane just tortured him. How dare he, after what he put Bella through? I wanted to torment him for days and then kill him. It is much less than what his actions actually warranted.

Bella exploded. "What the hell is going on? Alice? Edward? Anyone? Just tell me!"

Drowning in my guilt, I choked out, "Like I said, Bella, it isn't my place to tell you. Just trust yourself and Master Aro."

Master Aro responded to her. He licked the shell of her ear seductively, snickering darkly, and whispered, "The answer, il mio piccola, is quite simple. It seems that you and I are soul mates. You are mine." It was too much for her, and she fainted.

In my concern for Bella, I began shaking her and cried, "Bella! Bella!" right in front of her. When she opened her eyes, "Bella! We were so worried!" Master Aro looked like he would have had a heart attack.

Bella said in disbelief, "What happened? You can't be here. You're a dream. If I close my eyes, you'll disappear." When she closed her eyes, her memories returned to her, and she began to breathe in panicked gasps.

She pulled herself roughly from Aro's arms as I quieted her, "Breathe, Bella, Breathe."

"No, no, no, I thought Edward was my mate. It's what you all told me." Aro's face darkened, and he growled. I pleaded with him through my eyes to let her explain. He nodded.

"No, Bella, it's what he lead us to believe. You have to trust me when I say I had no clue until I had a vision."

Master Aro demanded sharply, "What vision?"

"It was actually a combination of many visions that I got the day I left for Forks to get you. Since Edward was far away, he didn't read my mind. Bella, I'm so sorry, but they all ended the same way. You were drained, and Edward was the one to do it. He made the decision to drain you then. I'm so sorry I didn't see it sooner. Just after I had these visions, I had the most important one. It was a ball for you, Bella. Master Aro announced you as his mate, wife, and queen. It was your coronation. You belong here."

Aro was incensed as he took my hand. While I showed him my memories, we spoke quietly and at vampire speed so nobody could hear us. "Please, Master Aro, you have to believe us. Emmett, Jasper, Rose, and I had nothing to do with it. When I found out, I brought her here in the best way I could. I don't know about Carlisle and Esme, though."

"Dear Alice, I believe you. I thank you and your kin for uniting us. It would not have happened otherwise."

"All I ask is that Edward gets what is coming to him."

"He will. My brothers and I will see to it."

"Thank you."

With that, he released my hand and proclaimed, "It's all true, every last ounce of it." To Bella, he said, "Cullen was going to drink your blood, because he could not withstand the temptation any longer. You are also, indeed, my mate. Marcus agrees as well. You are mine!"

Bella, in a rage, yelled to Edward, "What the fuck have I ever done to you? I loved you, and this is how you repay me? Fuck you! You kept me from my true mate?"

Edward implored her, "Please, Bella, Alice is not telling the truth! She is spinning lies to make you hate me! She has always despised me, because I am perfect, and Carlisle and Esme love me more than her! Let me take you home and we can go to a secluded cabin in the woods where we can live in peace until you die! I will not let you be turned!" What the hell? In his derailed mind, he actually thought he was perfect!

"Edward, you're insane! After what you've done, I will never come near you again, let alone be secluded off in the woods with you! You will not keep me from Aro!"

Aro ordered, "Alec, cut off his senses and keep him in the dungeons until his trial," with an authoritative edge in his voice that demanded respect.

Alec asked, "What about the seer?"

"Leave her be. She has done no wrong." A load was lifted off my shoulders with that statement. Alec and Jane bowed and left the room.

Caius spoke, trying to remain level headed. "Demetri, Felix, leave us." The rest of the guards raced out of the room, leaving only myself, Bella, Marcus, Caius, and Aro.

When she turned, we observed her closely. Caius was the first to break the awkward silence. "Forgive me, cara, we have not yet properly introduced ourselves. I am Caius, the one in the middle is Aro, and next to him is Marcus. We are the Volturi brothers."

She opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Marcus chuckled and said, "Welcome, amato, to Volturi castle. We are truly happy that you and Alice are here."

Aro softly said, "Amore, it appears that we have much to discuss. Marcus, if you would?"

"Amato, as you may or may not be aware, my power is to see bonds between two people. You and Ms. Cullen are bonded like sisters. You two are inseparable."

She whispered, "I already knew that," and sent me a small smile. I was thrilled that she considered me a sister and that our bond was so strong. I squeezed her hand back and beamed back at her.

"I thought you would. To myself, you are like my daughter, and I, your father."

"What about Charlie?"

"He is still your biological father, but now you are part of this family, so I am also your father."

"How am I a part of this family?" She looked unnerved but accepting.

"Well, you are my daughter. If that is not cause enough, to Caius, you are like a sister. He is your brother. You two shall get along famously, but you will have fights as all brothers and sisters will. It is a wonderful bond to have. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, you and Aro are soulmates. Your bond is one of the strongest and most beautiful I have had the pleasure of seeing."

"So, this is all real?"

Master Aro answered indignantly, "Yes, of course it's real, amore mio. Do you not feel the bond between us?" His voice then became very seductive. "You do. I can tell by the way you reacted when we first met." He glided towards her and stopped in front of her. He placed feather light kisses up the column of her throat, coming closer and closer to her mouth. I turned away. I didn't need that image in my mind, even if it was kind of cute.

Evidently, Master Marcus thought so too. When Master Aro pulled away, he exclaimed "Aro, I didn't need to see my daughter fervently kissing you," to which she blushed hard, mortified.

Aro said smugly, "Now, do you believe me?"

She nodded and buried her face in his chest, not wanting to be apart from him. From experience, I knew the bond was extremely strong, and not being near him was NOT an option. Even now, I was hurting from being away from Jasper. The sooner he got here, the better.

Nevertheless, I was feeling victorious that I was right and smirked. "Never bet against a psychic!"

Caius, Marcus, and Aro laughed, and Bella growled. They laughed even harder.

* * *

APOV

Hearing Marcus confirm aloud that Isabella was my mate sent shivers up my spine. I had an all-consuming need to make her mine. Let it be said that male vampires are dominating and exceptionally possessive. When she asked, quite innocently I might add, if this was real, I was angry for a moment. Did she not feel it? "Yes, of course it's real, amore mio. Do you not feel the bond between us?" Then, to persuade her, my voice became husky and seductive. "You do. I can tell by the way you reacted when we first met." I placed light butterfly kisses up her throat, inhaling her addicting scent. I got closer to her mouth, and when I couldn't take it anymore, I kissed her hard. I was more aroused than I had ever been in my three thousand years of existence. I was so close to giving in to my animalistic need to claim her that I barely managed to reign in my inner beast. I retreated, making her whimper.

After our joking about the kiss was over, _Mia Bella_ was blushing as red as a tomato. Then, she said, "Well then, father, brother, Aro, if you will welcome me into the family, then I am now a Volturi." With that statement, I touched her cheek and embraced her while I talked to Alice. Caius and Marcus were grinning from ear to ear, ecstatically happy. "I have thanked you once, and I must thank you again for bringing us together."

"It's my pleasure, Master Aro."

I turned to my brothers and had a silent conversation with them. Over the years, we had learned to read the other's body language precisely. Caius spoke even before I could open my mouth. "Ms. Cullen, we can sense your discontent with your current lifestyle, especially given recent events. Your other siblings and mate I include in this. I am sure that you do not wish to return to your coven. Am I correct in assuming so?"

"Yes, Master. Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie are not satisfied with Carlisle's way of life, either. Carlisle and Esme have been too suffocating, and they showed too much favoritism toward Edward. They will not easily believe that Edward had actually planned this."

"Then, on behalf of Aro, Marcus, and myself, we offer you positions within our guard and a chance to stay here. Of course it is optional, but we would be most obliged if you consent."

"I have seen Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, and myself in Volterra as your guards. This fact cannot and will not change. Therefore, I accept for all of us." Inside my mind, I was elated that we would have such talented additions to the guard. Why would Caius ask, though? He has never shows interest in who joins the guard. I decided not to think of it though. Most of all, Bella would have more companions. By the expression on her face, she was happy.

She grinned and hugged Alice as tightly as could. She stopped when Marcus cleared his throat. I raised my eyebrow, but was overjoyed. He had talked more today than he had in the past month. "Thank you for accepting our proposition, and now I believe, that you have the rights to know your bonds, if you wish."

"Yes, please." Marcus never tells any, but our Elite Guards, of their bonds and even that is a rare occasion.

"Very well. I am telling you this because this is something that merits that you know. Caius changed you into a vampire."

Silence. "...WHAT?" Bella, Alice, and I shrieked.

"Brothers, how did I not know of this?"

Caius shrugged his shoulders. "You never bothered to look."

"But... how?"

Marcus answered. "Caius' power-"

"POWER?" Bella and Alice cried?

I explained, "Yes, Caius has a power known to none but Marcus, Caius, Athenodora (his wife), myself, and the Elite Guard. It gives him the ability to judge at first glance whether a vampire or a person will be his enemy or his ally. It also tells him whether that person will be beneficial to him, how, and from when. If a person in helpful to him, that means that the person is generally helpful to the Volturi as a whole. It helps us weed out traitors, find new recruits, try covens for crimes, etc. We keep it hidden. It is like our secret weapon, subtle but extremely effective."

Alice and Bella were shocked into silence.

Marcus, resuming his explanation, said, "Yes, his power. Now, his power allowed him to see that you would be his daughter. Through my power, I can see that it will not be broken."

Alice asked, "Then why did you leave me?" addressing Caius.

"My power told me that you needed at least a hundred years to find yourself before you would accept that I was to be your father figure. Believe me, Alice, it hurt me so much to leave you. I stayed with you until your transformation was complete and left right before you opened your eyes. Do you not remember my lingering scent?"

"I do. I just couldn't place it before now. What of Carlisle, though? Is he my father still? My bond to him is growing weaker, even I can feel it."

Marcus said, "It is indeed growing weaker, cara. It is almost completely severed. It is because of your previous anger towards him and Esme coupled with the fact that you have met your true father."

Alice, with a twinkle in her eye, said happily, "Then I'm very happy to have found you... father."

Caius strode forward quickly and embraced her, looking as if he would have been crying, if it were possible. He kissed her cheek and whispered, "We will never be apart again, daughter."

Marcus interrupted, "Alice, to me you are my neice. Aro is your overprotective big brother. You will fight more than Bella and Caius tend to, but you still love each other for it."

I was amazed that I hadn't known of this development before, or at least hadn't felt my bond with Alice as well. But then again, I was too caught up in the moment with il mio prezioso to notice anything else. "Welcome to the family, Alice!" The five of us ended up in a large group hug, each with tears that would never fall. Except Bella, who had one tear running down the side of her cheek.

When the group hug broke, I gently let go of Bella and with a tender look at her, I said, "Excuse me, amore mio. My brothers and I have something to discuss. Give us two minutes." She nodded and rushed off with Alice to talk in a flurry of whispers and giggles. When I turned to talk to my brothers, they were highly amused. "What?"

Caius laughed, "You, dear_ fratello_, are whipped. I believe that is the terminology nowadays."

I start to deny it then change my mind. "Maybe I am. Moving on..."

Marcus said, "I think Alice should be our princess, and Bella should be your queen, Aro."

Caius inclined his head in agreement, looking at his daughter and sister. I said, "My thoughts exactly, brothers. We will have thrones for them, and Bella's shall be as grand as ours."

"Well, that was simple," Caius smirked. Then we walked up to where Alice and Bella were gossiping. Sisters till the end, I thought. I pulled Bella to my side and greeted her with another kiss, to which she responded passionately and instantaneously. My senses were all hyper aware, and I had never felt more alive. This time, she ended the kiss, gasping for breath. "We have something to ask you two," Caius began.

They looked on curiously, not saying a word. Hesitantly, I asked, "Alice, we want you to become the Volturi Princess. Mio amore, would you do me the honor of becoming my queen?"

Alice hugged her father. That action said it all. Bella launched herself at me, hugging me as tight as she could. "Yes, Aro, I will. I would be honored." That made me the happiest man in the world.

Alice asked, "Will I still be part of the guard?"

Caius answered, "No. I only asked that to figure out if you were ready to know that I would be your father. If you had said that you would go back to America, I would have left you alone until the next time we met."

Marcus spoke, making all of us pay rapt attention. "Now that is settled, there is still the matter of the rest of the Cullens."

There went my good mood. Alice said, "Rose, Em, and Jaz are ready to catch the next flight to Italy. I just have to call them. They'll bring Carlisle and Esme too, if you wish it."

"Yes, please do, cara. Carlisle and his wife must be present too. You have to be witnesses for the boy's trial. You, your mate, Rosalie, and Emmett will not be punished. You have not committed any crimes. It was the boy that exposed her, and therefore, it is his infraction. He will also be tried for his crimes against Bella, since she is now a Volturi queen. Carlisle and Esme must be punished as coven leaders."

She replied, "Sure, uncle, I'll tell them what's happened and tell them to come here. Carlisle and Esme won't be happy, but screw them."

"Once they arrive, we'll hold the trial. We'll see what to do with Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie when they get here. They may be part of the Elite Guard or something more, depending on their bonds with Aro, Caius, and myself."

"Cool."

Then I suggested, "Caius, why don't you show my sister to her room? I'll take Bella to hers. Marcus, you can... go do whatever it is that you normally do."

Without waiting for an answer, I left the throne room with Bella's hand safely tucked into the crook of my arm.

* * *

BPOV

Today had been full of surprises. I'm still trying wrap my mind around them. I can officially say that mind has been blown in the last hour or so. Aro and I were walking out of the throne room when he interrupted my pensive silence by saying, "We will talk more in the privacy of my room, amore mio. It is soundproof, and there is much to discuss."

"OK, Aro," and then we returned to companionable silence. I used it to reflect on the things that were unearthed. Aro and I were soulmates. That I could deal with. He was drop-dead gorgeous, intelligent, kind, confident, and completely sexy. I was perfectly happy with spending my eternity with him. Marcus was my father. He was wise, and knew everything about everything. He had lost someone dear to him, that much was obvious. I wanted to help him. Caius was my brother. He certainly seemed like someone I would fight with and tease relentlessly. He was snarky, quick-witted, and easy to anger, but he had a good heart. I could see that after his interactions with Alice and me. I knew I loved Marcus and Caius as family already. With Aro, I loved him so much it hurt, but that was what scared me. I felt like I knew everything there was to know about him, and I really did. His favorite color was not the stereotypical black or red, but rather midnight blue. His favorite pastimes were reading and and painting. His worst pet peeves were when Caius tugged on his hair and the sound of a vampire being destroyed. He had heard that one far too many times and wished that he didn't have to kill vampires for their transgressions, but he knew it had to be done. I didn't know how exactly I had come to know these things about him, but I knew him inside and out the moment our eyes connected.

Then, Caius has a power! Although, now it made so much more sense. He was always the one who ruled with an iron fist, and Aro generally listened to him. At first glance, he would give his input on whether to dispose of the person or not. It made him a great ruler, because he could see beyond the lies. Together, Aro, Marcus, and Caius were great kings for the vampire world because they could dish out justice correctly because of their powers.

Caius's power then allowed him to see that Alice was his daughter. I was happy for Alice. I always knew that her relationship with Carlisle and Esme was never as strong as she wanted it to be. How could it have been? They only had eyes for Edward! Alice will be good for her father. She will make him smile more. I hope Alice will find the mother she's wanted in Athenodora, Caius' wife. My father, Marcus, will make a great uncle for her. Finally, I can tell Aro will be overly overprotective. They WILL fight about it. Mark my words. I will stand there on the side, laughing my head off.

Just then, Aro and I came to a stop in front of a huge pair of double doors. He opened them with ease and said, "After you, milady," bowing.

I laughed and stepped in the threshold with Aro right behind me.

* * *

Fratello - brother

Mia Bella - My Bella or My beautiful/pretty

Review please! Hope you liked it.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello again and sorry for the long wait! I was severely jet lagged until a couple of days ago and didn't have time to write. I'm a little overwhelmed with the amount of work that I have to make up at college, but oh well... Thanks for being patient with me!**

**Also what bonds do you want Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie to have with members of the Volturi? I need some suggestions, so you can leave them in your reviews, and I'll try and use them.**

**Alice is 17 in this story, Jasper is 19, Emmett is 19 and Rosalie is 18. **

**I gave Caius a power because I couldn't stand the thought of him without one. In my mind, it doesn't make sense for an oh-so-powerful Volturi king to NOT have a power. People have said that his power is to scare people into submission, but really? Yeah he's utterly terrifying, but that's not a power, it's just an asset to his disposition (sometimes) as a king! And the way he is the first one to give his input, I figured that this is a good power to have. Also, it fit in with his and Alice's story went. It's extremely effective in them weeding out those with malicious intent as well and will play a part in the story later on.**

**Thanks to my awesome beta, flamingpen18! I couldn't do this without you!**

**As always, reviews are much appreciated and brighten up my day :)**

**On with the story!**

* * *

BPOV

Just then, Aro and I came to a stop in front of a huge pair of double doors. He opened them with ease and said, "After you, milady," bowing.

I laughed and stepped in the threshold with Aro right behind me.

* * *

BPOV

My senses were assaulted by what could only be described as royal grandeur. The room was obviously a master suite, stately and opulent. It screamed wealth and luxury, from its sheer size to its furnishings. It was cream with accents of pale blue, gold, and chocolate brown. The canopied, intricately carved bed was far larger than a king-sized bed and looked sinfully comfy. The floors were covered by plush periwinkle rugs over the darkest chocolate brown wood. The moldings in the wall were Renaissance style, inlaid with gold. A single, majestic crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling of the room. There were sconces and exquisite paintings lining the walls. The drawn drapes of the windows revealed a breathtaking view of the Italian countryside, uninterrupted by roads or cars. Near the window, there were two arm chairs of powder blue satin with a table in between them. Below the window was an unlit fireplace made of cream granite. All in all, my laugh was caught in my throat by the splendor of Aro's bedroom, and I had a sneaking suspicion that there were many more rooms in his private chambers.

Aro, chuckling at my reaction, told me, "There's more to my rooms. This entire floor is mine to use as I please."

A few seconds more of silence and then I blurted out, "You, meaning ONE PERSON, lives on ONE FLOOR?"

"Until now, yes, but now I have you to share them with!" He seemed so happy when he said that.

I beamed brightly and was about to launch myself at him when my stomach interrupted with a loud, embarrassing growl. I smiled sheepishly as he said, "I anticipated you'd be hungry, so I asked Gianna to bring you some food," pointing to a table near the arm chairs. It was only then that I noticed a silver platter on the table. "Help yourself. We'll talk once you've eaten and freshened up."

We walked over to the table. The platter was lifted to reveal fettucini alfredo with grilled asparagus and chicken. There was a cup of strawberries and melted chocolate for dessert, accompanied by cups of water and cranberry juice. It was mouth-watering and amazingly satisfying to my empty stomach. Aro was observing my every movement while I was eating, making me increasingly self-conscious. Once I was finished, he directed me to a bathroom. This bathroom was an artwork of marble. The only colors it had were cream, gold, and grayish blue. The bathtub at the center was a behemoth to behold, taking up the majority of the bathroom. A beautiful shower stall was installed at the right wall. Double sinks of marble took up the left wall. There was a separate door leading to the toilet, where I finished rather quickly, anxious to get back to Aro.

I exited the bathroom to see Aro standing facing the window, still and statuesque. I approached him cautiously and stopped next to him, staring contemplatively at the landscape. It was Aro who broke the silence with his rich baritone voice, surprising my out of my reverie. "I finally feel complete. I never thought that I would have the luck to feel this in my life."

I put my my hand over his. "Why?"

"Let me tell you my story, but you must promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Do not become angry at me."

"...OK...," I replied, becoming apprehensive.

"As a child, my parents were Etruscan royalty, and I was next in line for the throne. There was no other direct descendant of the king. Therefore, I was the only one who could inherit it until I had a male child. I loved exploring the fields and going hunting in the forest, though my parents disapproved. They said that someone would try to kill me. It was the night before my coronation, and I had gone hunting again. My father had just died. I was ambushed by those who wished for our dynasty to end, so I was beaten and barely breathing by the time Marcus found me. I dimly realized that he was my father's brilliant financial advisor, who had gone missing in those woods. He had always been like my older brother, when my father was alive. He smiled at me and then bit me. I burned, not comprehending anything but the pain for three long days, until it finally stopped and I was reborn. Marcus and I roamed the woods for a few more weeks, then moved on to other places. We found Caius as a slave, being tortured within an inch of his life everyday and took pity on him, changing him. That is why he so harsh to everyone. He doesn't trust very easily after that experience."

He paused, hesitation betraying him. My heart wept for Caius especially, but I stayed strong and locked eyes with Aro and nodded, signalling him to continue. Whatever he told me, I would stick by him. I knew then and there that I loved him beyond a doubt.

"At this time, my sister, Didyme, was 27. I had to see how my only remaining blood relative was doing, if those morons had killed her in an effort to get the throne. I hoped that they had not. It would have been absolutely futile, since only males inherit the throne. When Marcus and I returned, we discovered that the new dynasty had trapped her in a horribly abusive marriage with the new king, as a trophy of sorts. I was beyond furious, and so was Marcus. Why? Didyme was his soul mate. We killed the new rulers in our thirst for their blood and offered Didyme the chance to become a vampire. It was love at first sight for her with Marcus. She didn't want to be without me and Caius, who had become another brother to her, so she agreed."

Something didn't sit right with his tone of voice, so I asked cautiously, "Is Didyme..."

He choked out, "She's dead. Attacked by children of the moon, werewolves, and I could not do anything to save her."

"Aro, I'm so sorry, for all of you."

"It's ok, mia bella. Life goes on. We all cherish her memory dearly. Continuing with my story, we established the Volturi, taken from Marcus' family name. Nobody disputed our authority, because of our age and power. We had built up the guard, and Jane and Alec were with us, so we were unchallenged. Before Didyme died in 983 AD, Caius found his mate in Athena, short for Athenodora. She had been changed by some random vampire. She was part of a coven that had committed a great crime, the crime of creating an immortal child."

"What is an immortal child?"

"A child below the age of 12 changed into a vampire. They are beautiful, but can kill entire villages in a matter of seconds. Deadly creatures indeed. They are a threat because they risk our exposure. Understand?"

"Yeah, Aro."

"Anyway, Athena didn't have a part in its creation. This particular child had rampaged a city in Russia, causing mass destruction and many a mess to be cleaned up. The second she learned of its existence, she came to us because of the threat it posed. It is no small feat to betray a coven, but it had to be done. She saw Caius, and their fates were sealed."

"Where are you going with this, Aro?" Now I was confused, though I appreciated that he was telling me his life story.

"I'm getting to that part. It had been years, and I still had not found my mate. I looked weak as a king with no queen as well. I was getting discouraged, so I married a woman named Sulpicia. At the time, I thought she would make a fine queen. She commanded everyone everywhere she went. Caius and Marcus warned me about her. With their gifts, they knew something was wrong with her. Caius could make out that she would be an enemy, just not why. His gift doesn't tell him how a person will be an enemy, only how they will be an ally. Marcus saw that her bonds to us were ones of envy and hate. I didn't believe them. For once, I thought that they were wrong, because when I read her thoughts, there was nothing to indicate her ill will for the Volturi. She only married me for the money and title. I was fine with it, because I thought she was loyal to the Volturi. I was wrong."

"What happened? Where is she now?" Jealousy coursed through me.

"I killed her. She was plotting against us with the Romanians. There was a Romanian who had the ability to shield minds from only mind-reading gifts, so he was cloaking their plans with his gift. I found out when they attacked the castle. We won easily of course, but I destroyed her in my fit of rage. Not in my wildest dreams had I imagined she would be plotting against us. My most valuable lesson that day: always trust Caius and Marcus. I destroyed anything that had anything to do with her and thanked my stars that I never allowed her into my bedroom, my private sanctuary. I'm so sorry that I married her, mio amore. It was a hasty mistake that I made in desperation. You weren't alive yet! Please, Bella, forgive me."

My mind was blank. "...Aro...," he looked at me almost fearfully, "What is there to forgive? I understand your actions. You had to marry for your image and with your mate nowhere in sight, you did what you had to. At least I'm here now, and if you want me, I'm yours, hopefully forever."

I don't know what made me say that, but it seemed like the right thing to say. Apparently it was, because the next second I knew, Aro had me pulled in for a passionate kiss that reached the depths of my bones and sent pleasurable tingles up my spine. When he pulled back, his hair was a mess, and I was panting heavily. He eyed me, smirked, and said, "You are mine just as much as I am yours. Now seriously, you must have questions about our bond."

And in all honesty, I did, tons of them. "Am I supposed to know everything about you? Am I supposed to feel your emotions? What happens now? How can I love you so quickly?"

After realizing what I said, I slapped my hand over my mouth. I couldn't believe I had said that, and I hid my flaming face with my hair. I felt two of Aro's ice cold fingers grab my chin and make me look into his soulful scarlet orbs. I was terrified of what he would say, but my fears were alleviated with his words. "I love you too, and don't you ever doubt it."

I was overjoyed that he loved me back and bear hugged him, which he returned lightly. "Now, to answer your questions; yes, you are supposed to know everything about me and be able to read my emotions, just as I do you. What happens now? We'll see. You will most definitely become my queen and rule with Caius, Athenodora, Marcus, and myself. Alice will be the princess and rule with us as well. The rest of the Cullens will get here for the trial, and we'll go from there. How can you love me so quickly? I'm just that awesome," and he stuck his tongue at me, teasing me.

For now, I was satisfied and rested my head against his shoulder, content. "When will I get to meet Athena?"

"She's shopping with Heidi in Paris, probably buying out all the stores. She should be back tomorrow morning."

"What if she doesn't like me?"

"Amore mio, everyone loves you. How couldn't they? You are stunning, intelligent, caring, and very sexy (although nobody else is allowed to say it but me). She will love you."

Suddenly, Aro seemed to hear something that my dull human senses refused to pick up. "Forgive me, love, but it seems that I am required in the throne room, because stupid old Marcus couldn't do it on his own. Feel free to explore this floor, because it's yours too. You are safe here. In the evening, if it is acceptable, I will take you somewhere."

"Sure, Aro."

"Excellent. I'll send Jane up later to help you get dressed," and with a peck on my cheek, he was gone before I could react.

I shook my head and decided to do some exploring.

* * *

AlPOV

Father and I ran at vampire speed to his chambers, which I soon learned were huge, taking up the vast expanse of one castle-sized floor. We entered, what I assumed, was the master bedroom based on the ornate C and A on either side of the double doors. It looked to be around 1500 square feet. It was extremely modern, with slate gray walls and white wood on the floor. The bed was all clean lines, polished white on a raised platform. There was a chaise and a couple of black armchairs with a glass coffee table. The wall it was placed against was made of black leather, while another wall was entirely made of windows, with a deck to walk out onto. The deck had chairs and a hammock, and was completely filled with plants of all colors and sizes. There were also real plants placed throughout the room. It was minimalistic, but I fell in love with it instantly. "Wow!" I exclaimed, looking at all the plants.

"Athena loves to garden," Father explained.

"When will I get to meet Mother?"

"She's off shopping to God knows where. I think it was Paris last time I checked, but I might be wrong."

"She shops in Paris? All day excursions? She really is my mother! We think exactly alike!"

Father laughed. "Alice, we've only just met again, and you haven't yet met your mother. Are you sure that you already know what she thinks like? How can you be so sure?"

"Visions, Daddy dear. Visions."

After hearing me call him daddy, he enveloped me in a bone-crushing hug. "Dad, bones cracking here."

"Sorry, principessa. Won't happen again."

"Sure, dad," my voice was the epitome of sarcasm. Our rapport was already established, and I was loving every minute of it. I loved my father.

"Alice, I'm never letting you go now that I've finally got you. Not to Carlisle, not to Jasper, not to anybody."

"I'm not going to go anywhere, Dad. I'm staying here with you."

"Now that's settled, your husband and I are going to have a nice little chat when they get here, and I may just forget to stop being big, bad, scary Caius."

"Dad, try not to kill him. I love him."

He sighed dramatically. "I'll try, but no promises."

It was as good as it got, so I accepted. "Fine."

"We should get you settled in your room. Follow me." We walked down the corridor, with me taking everything in. The door we halted at read 'Alice' in beautiful calligraphy. He pushed the door open to reveal a room very similar to his, except slightly smaller, at around 1000 square feet. It had purple and silver accents, a stark contrast to the white and gray that made up the majority of the room. I had a writing desk with an Apple computer hooked up. Then, dad opened another door I hadn't noticed. I walked inside to a humongous walk-in-closet just waiting to be filled. I squealed loudly, noting its size. It was about the size of two New York City regular apartments put together. In short, I was in heaven.

Dad said, "If you're anything like your mother, I figured that you'd need at least this much space for your clothes."

"Thanks, dad, this is amazing, but you didn't have to do all of this. I'm just never going to be away from you again."

He kissed the top of my forehead and said, "Your mother will be so proud of you."

Just then, we heard Uncle saying, "Caius, Aro, get your lazy asses down here and help me deal with these idiots who want us to build a vampire resort town!"

I giggled and said, "Father, you should go," trying to get him back into official kingly mode. It didn't work.

"Do I have to?" he whined.

"Yes, father!" With that, I pushed him out of the room.

* * *

BPOV

During my adventures of Aro's floor, I found a very sizable library. Consequently, I curled up in a beanbag with an original autographed copy of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, which happened to be one of my favorite books of all time. This was how Jane found me at 6:30 in the evening.

"Bella, what are you doing?!"

"Oh my god, Jane, you scared the living daylights out of me! What does it look like I'm doing? I'm reading a book."

"You only have an hour to get ready for your date with Master Aro! Let's go!" Before I could protest, she dragged me out of the library and into Aro's rooms. Laid out on his bed was a gown of navy blue lace and silk. It was truly amazing, fit for a queen. "You have 5 minutes to shower, and if you're not done after 5 minutes, I will personally come in there and get you. Mark my words." She can be really scary when she's angry, so I took what could possibly be the quickest shower of my life. Then, she fussed with my hair, braiding it and putting it up so it looked like a crown on my head. My makeup was only black mascara, thick navy blue eyeliner, clear lip gloss, and blush. My jewelry was a diamond and sapphire earring and necklace set. Finally, a pair of satin, silver, jeweled flats (yes, flats!) completed the ensemble. When Jane had worked her magic, I could no longer recognize the woman in the mirror. She was stunning. She pronounced me, "Perfect!" and said, "Master Aro should be here shortly. Good luck!" She kissed my cheek and left me wondering what I could need luck for.

All too soon, Aro was at the door, staring at me hungrily. He was dashing in a well tailored suit, with his black hair clipped back like usual. The shirt had four buttons unbuttoned, showing off the hard muscles of his chest. "Bella, you look ravishing today." I blushed and looked down. "Do you mind if I carry you to where we're going?"

"Be my guest." So in a matter of 7 seconds, we were on the roof of Volturi Castle. The view, Italy at night, was absolutely gorgeous, and I was in awe at its beauty. There was a table for two set up, with my dinner and for Aro, a goblet of blood. I ate slowly, savoring every morsel of delicious food. Aro delighted in watching me, sending up butterflies in my stomach. Once I was done, Aro stood up, seemingly nervous. He kneeled in front of me, making heart race.

"Amore mio, you have made me the happiest man in the world by agreeing to stay here and be my queen. But I have another question for you. Even though I only met you today, I love you with my heart and soul. I can not live without you. Isabella Marie Swan, will you do me the highest honor of marrying me?"

* * *

**Grr... cliffhanger. Sorry about that. I just really wanted to get a chapter out there for you guys and this was the quickest way to do it. It's not the longest chapter, but there you have it. I'll try and update again really soon.**

**If my historical facts are not correct, please forgive me and correct me! The Etruscans were around from about 900 BC, so we'll say that Aro's been alive for around 2,900 years. I'm not sure if they had kings and royalty and all that, so yeah. If anyone knows, please tell me!**

**Did I get Caius' and Alice's interactions OK? Was it too sarcastic, or was it Caius-like? I have an unhealthy obsession with Caius, and I've always felt like he'd be super sarcastic. Then, Alice is Alice. She just loves to shop. *Shakes head and sighs* **

******Review please and let me know what you want the Cullen's bonds to be to the Volturi! Looking forward to hearing from your guys.**

**See you next time and once again, thanks for reading!**

**Violin1027**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks for all your reviews and follows and favorites, but honestly, I was a little bummed out by the small number of reviews for the last chapter. This chapter is a longer chapter, and there's a lot of Bella/Aro action. Aro is being really sweet right now, but never fear, you will see creepy and powerful Aro soon enough. My justification is through Bella and Aro's bond, he becomes a softie at some points. He's still Machiavellian and crazily manipulative, you just don't see that side when he's with Bella. At the trial, those of you who've been waiting for powerful Aro will be happy (hopefully).**

**You guys get to meet someone who was mentioned quite a bit, I hope I did her justice.**

**I also wanted to point out to you guys that Alice and Athena's powers are kind of similar. Alice sees the future in different places, Athena sees the present. Caius and Alice's powers are similar because Alice can see the future and Caius can tell how a person will be his ally in the future. The fact that Alice's power is similar to those of Caius and Athena signifies the strength of their bond with each other. Even as a young girl, Alice had premonitions. It was fate that made Alice so similar to her real vampire parents. Nothing will ever come between these three. You'll notice some similarities between Alice and her parents.**

**A BIG thank you to my beta, flamingpen18. I recommend that you guys read her work, it's really good! **

**I promise, next chapter will be the long-awaited trial, but I needed to add in this chapter to explain some things and introduce a very vital character. Enjoy!**

* * *

BPOV

Once I was done, Aro stood up, seemingly nervous. He kneeled in front of me, making my heart race.

"_Amore mio_, you have made me the happiest man in the world by agreeing to stay here and be my queen, but I have another question for you. Even though I only met you today, I love you with my heart and soul. I can not live without you. Isabella Marie Swan, will you do me the highest honor of marrying me?"

* * *

BPOV

I was in shock. Me? He wanted to marry me? I stared at him incredulously. Why would he, a vampire king, deign to marry a lowly human like me? All my insecurities flooded back into my mind with full force, but as I looked into Aro's eyes, I knew that he was being serious. I was dimly aware of the tears streaming down my face and my mouth erupting into a grin. What I was about to do was highly unorthodox, and this is coming from the girl who cavorted with vampires on a daily basis. "Yes, Aro. From the bottom of my heart, yes. I love you!"

He picked me up and twirled me, kissing me fervently and eliciting previously unheard of passion from me. My blood was on fire, and my body was tingling. He looked like he would be crying if he could, once he released me from our dance of tongues. "_Ti amo_, Bella. I will give you the universe and more. You will be worshipped like the queen you are. Nothing will take me from you. You are mine, and I am yours for all eternity."

I was deeply touched by his words, but I didn't say anything. I didn't have to. My eyes said it all. We sat, looking out into the Italian night, peaceful and blissfully happy. Aro stirred, and pulled a box out of his coat pocket. It was small and covered by black velvet. I knew what it was. Wordlessly, he opened it to expose the most dazzling ring I had ever seen. It was platinum, with small chocolate diamonds in a single row along the band. The center was a tastefully large diamond, cut to be shaped like flower. He took my hand and gingerly placed the ring on it. "Thank you, Aro. It's truly beautiful."

"But you are more beautiful than it by far, and now it's official. We are engaged to be married."

In silence we sat, but a question came to the forefront of my mind. "When will I be changed?"

"It depends on what you want. Personally, I'd like you to be changed sooner rather than later. If I change you sooner, you are in less danger from all the vampires here and those who could, potentially, wish you harm for your soon-to-be-position as a Volturi Queen."

"I agree, but how soon is soon?"

"I was thinking of the night of our wedding, if that is agreeable with you."

I didn't answer immediately. He was actually going to change me, not shy away from it like Edward. I was beyond happy that he was going to, but now my thoughts had taken a more depressing turn towards the dynamic of the relationship between Edward and me.

Aro grew worried by my melancholy silence and my mood, so he asked, "What troubles you, _piccola colomba_?"

I was hesitant in my reply, but decided to tell him. "Edward. He adamantly refused to change me into a vampire. I thought it was to protect my soul, but I was too blind to see the truth. He never loved me. You do have the intent to change, and it makes me more happy than you will ever know. It shows that you love me... You-" Here, I faltered. "You do love me, right Aro? My heart has been hurt once by a vampire who was only using me, and that is one time too many." I just had to know. My self confidence was never very high and Edward using me put it at an all-time low.

"Never, _mio amore_, I could never hurt you in such a way. Forget Edward. I will cherish you forever. I love you more than life itself." Through our bond, I felt his emotions and knew he spoke the truth.

"I believe you, Aro."

With a kiss on the head, he continued, "Now that that's out of the way, we have to discuss your coronation and the wedding. The coronation must be after you are a vampire, therefore after the wedding."

"Knowing you, the whole vampire world will be present at the coronation."

"That's the purpose of the coronation, sweetheart, to announce to the world that you are my wife and queen. So it follows that they all have to be there."

"Fine, it doesn't mean I have to like it. If everyone has to be there, can the wedding be private, please?"

"Sure, it will be the Volturi, close friends like the Denalis and Egyptians, and the remaining Cullens."

"Speaking of the Cullens, when is the trial?"

"They will be in Italy tomorrow evening, so the trial will be held first thing day after tomorrow morning."

"Don't punish Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie. They have done nothing wrong."

"They won't be. They helped Alice in her plan to get you here with me, therefore they are pardoned. If they had not done so, it would have been considered treason against the Volturi, and they would have been executed. For Edward's punishment, he will, most likely, be executed. Are you okay with this outcome?"

"Yes, he has blatantly disobeyed your laws and has not done anything to be pardoned with. I ask you, though, to not make his death painful. Don't let your anger get the best of you in that moment. You are a king. Act like one then. Anger must not cloud your judgement."

He looked at me proudly and proclaimed, "Spoken like a true queen. How I long to take you to my bed, but it will not happen before our wedding day. Of that, I give you my word."

Aro would say nothing different. He is a man who had lived through chivalry at its finest. I accepted that and was slightly grateful that he thought the same way that I did. Then he said, "Until then, heavy snogging sessions will have to do!" With a wicked gleam in his eyes, he proceeded to plunder my mouth relentlessly, with me thoroughly enjoying every minute of it.

After our intense kiss, I asked, "When are we getting married?"

"Would it be impudent of me to ask to get married next week?"

I was surprised, but not at all opposed to the idea. "Are you positive, Aro? I'm all for it, actually!"

**(A/N: It's Saturday night/early Sunday morning right now.)** "Shall we set the date for next Sunday then?"

"Sure, but you do realize that Alice will be extremely mad that we've only given her a week to plan?"

"Not to worry. Heidi, Athenodora, and Jane always plan Volturi events, and I know for a fact that they've been anxious to plan our wedding. Heidi and Jane are, at least. Athenodora might already know what's going on, but since we haven't received an angry phone call from her, I'm guessing not yet."

"How would she already know, if you guys haven't told her?"

"Well, that's the thing about little Athena," he smirked. "She has the power to see what's going on anywhere else in the world at that time."

My jaw was dropping, but Aro plowed on, "But wait, there's more!" In the voice of an infomercial person, "She can teleport anywhere."

By this point, my jaw had hit the floor. I was astonished at the extent of her power. "That's amazing! It must be really helpful."

"Indeed, my brothers, Athena, and I make a formidable team, and now you will rule with us."

"What if I don't have a useful power, or what if I don't have a power at all? No offense, Aro, but I know you covet those with powers. What will happen to me then?" It was moments like this that I was fully aware that Aro was a vampire king, and soul mate or not, he held my life in his hands. I did not know what he would do in his quest for power.

"You will be my wife and queen, regardless of your power or lack of one."

Mollified, I stayed quiet until shortly after, I yawned. Aro smiled and gently picked me up, cradling me close to his body as he ran back to his room. I fit into his arms perfectly, and I was almost disappointed as he set me down on his bed. "Sleep,_ cara_. Tomorrow you can meet Athena, we'll give you a tour of the castle, and the trial will be held. You need your rest."

He sweetly kissed the top of my head and said, "_Dormire bene_, mia bella." He settled in one of his armchairs with a book, Machiavelli's The Prince, to be accurate. How appropriate, I snickered to myself. With that thought, I drifted off to the world of dreams, where smouldering red gazes and wedding rings took over my mind.

* * *

JPOV

Alice just called and told me what came to pass at Volterra. Rose and Em were in the room with me when she called, so I was saved the trouble of explaining it to them. Now, we were sitting in contemplative silence, mulling over the news. Emmett grew impatient, and I knew he would open his mouth before he did. "We can't just sit around. We need to get Carlisle and Esme to Italy somehow!"

"But how?" Rose asked dejectedly.

"Simple," I asserted. "We tell them the truth."

"Jaz, they're not going to take it well. You know it as well as I do," Rose retaliated.

Em said, "Chill, Rose, Jaz is an empath. He can calm them down, or in a worst case scenario, he makes them really tired, and I carry them on our jet." The jet was our recent acquisition.

Rose, feeling newly reassured, exclaimed, "Then let's do this thing!"

At that moment, we heard the crunch of the gravel that signified that Carlisle and Esme were home. From Em and Rose, the only feelings I could discern for those who had previously been our parents was cool, clinical detachment, mirrored by our own. We all stood, our expressions tense as they entered.

Carlisle immediately became wary seeing our faces. "Son, what's going on?" he addressed me.

"There's a little crisis in Volterra. We have to be there tomorrow."

Esme let out an audible gasp. "What happened?"

Now it was Rose who answered, poison dripping from her voice. "Well, your little golden boy, Eddie, decided to commit suicide, because Alice thought that Bella was dead, which she isn't. He didn't want to live without tasting her blood."

"What a despicable thing to say about Edward, Rosalie! How dare you accuse him of such a thing?" Esme shouted.

Em interjected, "Jaz had been feeling only bloodlust when Edward was with Bella. When we left, he was relieved and happy, though he tried to hide it from Jaz."

"Edward did not! He was doing it for Bella's own good!"

Rose screamed, "He dropped her in the forest like Alice and I drop last season's fashions! Stop being so pig-headed that you can't see what's going on in front of your own eyes!"

"I refuse to believe Edward has done something like that. How do you know?" Carlisle asked, barely controlling his temper. He only got angry if we were trashing Edward, of course.

I could see Em getting furious, and a furious Emmett was very rare. Furious Emmett meant somebody was going to get seriously hurt if I didn't do anything soon. So I sent a wave of calm through the room as a precaution. "Alice had visions, all ending the same way. Edward had drained Bella. He had crimson eyes. When Alice and I made the decision to take Bella somewhere safe where Edward couldn't get her, she had another vision. Bella was a vampire, and Aro was announcing her as his wife and queen. Jaz, Em, Alice, and I were standing behind them." Carlisle tried to interrupt, but I was having none of it. "No, Carlisle, it was one of her unchangeable visions. It's our destiny. To get Edward to Volterra so that he could face punishment for his crimes, we devised a plan based on Alice's visions of the future. It worked. Now, we all have to go to Volterra for the trial. The kings have ordered it. It must be done."

Esme was whiter than a sheet, if it was possible. She looked positively spooked. Carlisle told us angrily, "We will go, but how could you trick us like this? After everything we've done for you?" If he was irate now, he would be spitting fire by the time we arrived at Volterra. I had conveniently omitted Alice being Caius' daughter. He could find out for himself.

Em told them to go pack. We had finished packing, because we knew wouldn't be coming back here anytime soon. Before we knew it, we were on our jet to Volterra with me flying it. I was happy to be finally going to Volterra. It was starting to physically hurt being away from my Alice.

* * *

AthPOV

When I had just finished shopping at one of the famous bijouteries on the Place Vendome, I felt a tug at my heart. Not literally, but I felt like I had been reunited with something long lost. Was it possibly the bond with Caius? No, that made no sense. I zoned in on what was happening in Volterra anyway. It was nothing out of the ordinary. Caius was acting normally in the throne room. He just looked slightly nicer than usual. Why? I decided not to think too much of it and left it. Had I watched more closely, I would have realized that my daughter had finally returned home.

Even as I told myself not to overanalyze the feeling, I had an overwhelming urge to get back to Volterra soon. I told Heidi that we would go home at 11:00 PM, when all the shops closed. It was earlier than I had originally planned. Besides, if it was something pressing, Caius would have called me. Content, I continued my very expensive shopping that would not put even the tiniest dent in the money we Volturi had at our disposal.

After I finished my shopping, I abandoned Heidi and teleported impatiently home to my bedroom to find Caius... not there? He was always in our bedroom at this time of the day. Something really important must have come up, or someone, as my heart was telling me. Through the bond Caius and I had, I was able to trace him. As I was walking towards him, I realized another incredible bond was leading me towards where Caius was, but this bond was with a totally different bond. Could it be, that it was...? No, it couldn't be. It was probably too soon, and knowing Carlisle, he still had her tightly under his thumb. I would not get my hopes up that she had come to us only to have them crushed. As I entered the gardens that I planted and maintained in my free time, Caius was talking to a petite pixie-like female. My motherly instincts took over, and I knew who she was.

I ran to them and hugged her stronger than vampirically possible. "Alice, my daughter, it's you!" I had tears pooling in my eyes that would never fall.

After recovering from her shock, she embraced me back, and we both were weeping tears of happiness. I pulled back from our joyous reunion, as did she. We stared at each other for what felt like hours before I sighed, "Where have you been all these years?" Caius wrapped his arm around my waist, and I was whole with my family next to me.

"Too far away from you and dad, mom," she whispered and hugged Caius and I. The three of us held each other close and stayed like that until the sun rose. When it did, we realized how the time had passed and broke apart.

Caius told Alice, "We have to give you and Bella a tour of the castle today."

"Bella?" That was a new name. "Who is she?"

My husband snickered, "Oh, you haven't heard? Aro found his mate and now he's gone soft like the rest of us! He used to make fun of me for it. Now, he can feel my pain."

"Did I hear you correctly, Caius? Did you just say I was a pain?!"

I knew what he meant, but I decided to pull his leg. His face comically shrunk, and he cowered behind Alice in fear. Ah, the power of women. "I'm only kidding, darling. I love teasing you. So big brother has finally found a mate? I have to meet my new sister and taunt Aro while I'm at it!"

Alice laughed at our antics and told me, "I doubt she'll be awake this early. It's 6 in the morning, mom!"

"Oh well, she can afford to wake up early to meet her sister," and I was off with Alice and Caius right behind me.

We met Marcus in the castle. "Hello, everyone. Athena, how was shopping?"

"Fine, but I got home a lot sooner than I would have normally done, because my heart was telling me that Alice was home."

"I thought you'd be back sooner. By the way, Isabella's awake, and she's getting ready for the day, according to Aro. He wants us to be there, so we can give her and Alice the tour."

"Then let's go! I want to meet her. Catch me if you can, old man!" It was a well-known fact that even without my teleportation, I was the fastest vampire of the Volturi, probably of all the vampires. They consider it another power, besides my other two, but I don't think it is one.

"Not fair, Athena!" Marcus, Alice, and Caius struggled, trying to keep up with my speed, and I eventually slowed down for them. We entered Aro's sitting room to find him with Bella cuddled on his lap, eating her breakfast. They looked up when we entered, and Bella got up quickly, flushing cherry red.

I bounded up to her and chirped, "Hey, Bella, I'm Athenodora, but you can call me Athena. I'm so excited to finally meet you! I can tell that we're going to be great sisters!"

* * *

BPOV

I got up quickly as Caius, Alice, and Father entered the room with a bubbly blond in tow, who I assumed was Athenodora, my brother's wife. She was petite, only a little taller than Alice's 4'10 and absolutely gorgeous! She was wearing a loose, baby blue, silk blouse with black capris and striped flats. With dirty blond hair a couple of shades darker than Caius', a heart-shaped face, long eyelashes, angelic features, scarlet eyes, and a beautiful smile. She even looked like Caius' perfect half. Where he was tall, she was short. Where he was masculinity embodied, she was goddess divine. Where his features were sharp, hers were soft. They were truly made for each other. Her vivacious personality put Alice to shame as she bounced up to me and chimed, "Hey, Bella, I'm Athenodora, but you can call me Athena. I'm so excited to finally meet you! I can tell that we're going to be great sisters!"

She was a bottle of sunshine and that surprised me more than anything, because Caius was so serious and sarcastic half the time. Then again, they complemented each other. "Hi! I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you!"

"From who? Please tell me Aro didn't call me Tinker Bell again."

"Umm... What?"

"He makes fun of my height, blond hair, teleportation, and happiness. He's so mean!" Aro was smirking, and I couldn't help but laugh. I never expected the Volturi to be so... normal, for lack of a better word.

"No, Athena, he has not called you Tinker Bell yet."

"Awesome."

Caius cleared his throat and said, "Now that we've all been introduced, I do believe we were supposed to give Bella and Alice a tour."

Aro piped up, "Yes, we were. So let's go." With my arm in his, we took the elevator downstairs to the lobby. "We'll start down here." This was the official Volturi business floor, according to them. There was the throne room, obviously. Next to it was an exquisite grand ballroom, colossal and elegant in every sense of the word. There was a room with a long table and chairs, a typical meeting room. There was also a kitchen that was well-stocked with human food and blood bags.

"We keep it stocked for anything that may happen," Father answered my silent query.

Continuing with the tour, we went to the second floor. It was the training area. It was state of the art with huge wrestling arenas, weapons, weights, and specialized rooms for different types of powers. For example, there was a room that incorporated water, earth, fire, sunshine, and wind for training elemental powers. It was amazing. Demetri and Felix were sparring, with Jane refereeing and Alec standing off to the side looking bored. They all waved, then went back to their match.

The third and fourth floors were the basic guard rooms. Alice asked, "You have a hierarchy within your guards?"

Caius used this time to give Alice and I our lesson on how the guard worked and told her, "Yes, the Elite Guard is comprised of Jane, Alec, Demetri, Felix, Chelsea, and Renata. Are you aware of their powers?"

"Not all of them," the little pixie replied.

"Obviously, you know of Jane's torture gift. Alec, her brother, can incapacitate a creature with a black dense fog. Demetri is our resident tracker. Felix has his brute strength that is unparalleled by anyone else on the guard. Chelsea has the ability to manipulate bonds, but she works in tandem with Marcus especially. She cannot see the bonds between people as well as he can. She can break the bond of loyalty between brother and sister, but through bonds, she won't be able to see whether they are biologically related or related by adoption. Renata is a physical shield. She can divert all attacks by touching the person she wishes to shield. Each of the Elite Guard is in charge of groups of the basic guard during battle. Ultimately, all of the guard members are answerable back to us. The Elite Guard can be demoted, and the basic guard can be promoted, based on performance and their favor with us. You can tell a person's rank by the cloaks they wear. The Elite Guard wear black cloaks with red lining. The basic guard wear black cloaks with green lining. If they aren't wearing their cloaks, you can tell by their pendants. We, the leaders, wear gold crests, the Elites wear silver, and the regular guard wear bronze. Questions?"

Alice and I absorbed this information and shook our heads in the negative. "Got it!" Alice sang.

Father explained about the basic guard rooms. "Each guard has their own bedroom and bathroom equipped with a computer and television. There is an entertainment/break room on each floor and a couple of sitting rooms to receive their visitors." We saw that the rooms were extremely spacious, about 400 square feet. Each one was decorated by its occupants. The break room held all gaming systems known to mankind, comfy sofas, tables, etc. Basically, they lived in luxury.

The fifth floor housed the Elite Guard. Their rooms were bigger, around 600 square feet, and were more ostentatious than those of the regular guard. Again, each one had a private bathroom and a petite sitting room. They had a break room and meeting rooms to plan strategy, furnished with projectors, computers, round tables, whiteboards, a podium, and an adequate supply of notepads and pens.

The general library was on the sixth floor, along with the general art and music rooms. The extensive library was filled with tomes centuries upon centuries old and priceless artifacts. I could tell that I would like this floor.

Caius and Athenodora, and now Alice, occupied the seventh floor. The floor looked like it belonged to Caius It was concise and to the point. It was very modern, defined by harsh lines and symmetry. His study was small and had a dark color scheme of forest green with brown accents. Greenery and shrubs covered every nook and cranny, probably courtesy of Athena, who I had learned loved to garden. The walls were lined with, presumably, important books, most about military and politics. So Caius was the military genius. It explained so much. When he saw my gaze directed at the books, he told me, "Each of us excel at a certain subject. For me, it's military tactics. My logical mind and my power only aid me in that. Athenodora helps me plan my tactics and now Alice will too, with her visions. Our powers are slightly similar and all help in deciding plans of action for the future. Marcus is brilliant at economics and foreign policy. Aro is the most outspoken, so he, usually, is the one who talks on behalf of all of us. He can manipulate easily and get any situation to work to our benefit. Accordingly, we each have books on areas we're most interested about in our studies." I nodded to show that I understood his monologue. I think it was his habit to make mini speeches every time he opened his mouth.

As we advanced forward, Caius pushed open the door to a music room. The majority of its space was taken up by a grand piano, and violins lined the walls. A couple of cellos and basses were placed against the wall. Alice saw and was amazed. "Dad, do you play?"

Athena answered, "Yes, he does. It's his way of channeling his anger out into something more productive. He plays the best when he's angry." With that sentence, she went dreamy-eyed, presumably fantasizing about his playing. Caius just looked embarrassed by the fact that was just revealed.

"Brother dear, I had no idea you played the violin. Care to play something for us?" My voice had a teasing lilt in it.

He smiled (gasp!) and shook his head. "No thanks, sister, I'll pass right now. Moving on..." In saying so, he successfully diverted the attention off of himself. He wasn't getting off so easily. I'd make him play for me.

The eighth floor was my father's. His bedroom was the embodiment of masculinity and by far the most modern. It was lit with recessed lighting. It was dark, even with the lights, and had been painted chestnut brown. The floor was gray granite covered by a checkered gray and black area rug. Once a person entered, they were met with an intimidating ceiling-to-floor stone fireplace. Further into the room was a massive bed with gold and silver bedding. Its frame was black, and its backdrop was tan leather cushions. These cushions also covered the part of the ceiling that the bed was under, giving it a polished look. Two small plants were on either side of the bed. To the side of the fireplace that was in front of the rest of the wall were doors leading to the bathroom and closet. It was dramatic and slightly somber, just like him. He showed us his private art room. Many pictures were of a tall, brunette woman. Her eyes seemed to speak, even in the picture. I knew instantly that this had to be the Didyme that Aro told me of. I said nothing, just smiled sadly. His study was navy blue and accentuated by black leather. His books, true to Caius' words, were focused on foreign policy and economics.

The last floor was Aro's and mine. Aro showed us his study, which was classically styled. Spanish red graced the walls that were covered by paintings, some were Caius' and some were the original works of master painters like Da Vinci and Michelangelo, who I learned that the Volturi were patrons for. The wood was cherry, and the books were about any and all subjects. Aro had a passion for learning and never ceased to stop it, hence the wide variety of subjects.

When we finished our tour, it was almost 9:45 in the morning. Athena decided that it was essential that she take Alice and me shopping, because we had no clothes. Alice, of course, was beyond thrilled and was already planning where she wanted to go.

I, on the other hand, groaned. "Do I have to, Athena?"

"Yes, Bella, no ifs or buts about it." I helplessly turned to Aro, Caius, and Father to come to my assistance. They laughed, enjoying my misery.

Father kissed my head and snickered, "Have fun,_ bambina_." He left the room with his cloak billowing behind him, reminding me of a bat.

Caius hugged me and laughed, "Good luck, _cara_. You're going to need it with the amount of shopping my wife does."

"Hey, I resent that, Caius. I'm not that bad."

"Yes, you are, dear."

Aro kissed me long and hard, leaving me breathless and my clothes slightly rumpled. When he was satisfied, he smirked at my disheveled appearance and blush. "See you later, _amato_. Athena, try not to shop until my mate faints." Caius and Aro departed together.

Athena huffed, "I'm not that bad!"

Eight hours and 168 bags later, she proved herself right. She was far, far worse.

* * *

AlPOV

My mother and I are so similar it's rather frightening, especially when it comes to shopping. I almost felt bad for Bella, having to put up with the two of us. Key word being almost. Mom teleported us to more stores in more countries than my vampire brain can remember, and that's really saying something. She bought nothing for herself, since she had her mega shopping trip in Paris, but rather played dress up with me and Bella. Between the two of us, we got Bella a whole new wardrobe that barely had jeans and t-shirts. My mother's explanation was, "You're going to be a queen, Bella. You have to dress the part. The only time you can wear jeans is when you're hunting and in your chambers where nobody can see you. Alice, even though I don't have to say anything to you, same goes for you." She spoke with an American accent, testament to her human life in the states.

Our new clothes were all designer and mainly dresses. There were casual dresses, ball gowns, and everything in between. The shirts and pants were delicate but wonderfully made. Mom and I had a lot of fun shopping for shoes, Bella, not so much. We bought her a lot of heels, but since she insisted on flats, we humored her. Playing Bella Barbie is definitely one of my favorite hobbies, and now it's one of mom's favorites, too. Even if Bella didn't like being dragged around, she enjoyed talking with us.

Spending more time with my mother, Bella and I learned more about how the Volturi worked. They were nothing like the cruel, heartless monsters Carlisle portrayed them to be. He had told me that my father never let mother out of the highest tower, and she was kept happy by the power of Corin, a vampire whose ability was to make a person feel content with a situation. This was not the case, according to mom. She had no clue where Carlisle had heard that, because he had clearly seen the way dad treated her during his stay.

Another common misconception was my father's ruthlessness. Yes, he was harsh, but only because the majority of the people who came to the Volturi were not trustworthy. If he showed his merciless exoskeleton, it would instill fear in those people and stop them from betraying the Volturi. His heartless facade counteracted the uninterested countenance of Uncle Marcus and the mood swings of Aro.

The biggest delusion Carlisle had was, apparently, Aro's collection of talented people. He had a sizable number of guards that had no special ability. They were just loyal to the Volturi and therefore, better at hand-to-hand combat than the other guards to make up for their lack of special abilities. Him coveting the vampires with abilities was not to further his own power. It was to augment the Volturi's efficiency in dealing with law breakers. Without the Volturi, the vampire world would have no sense of unity. A government of sorts was essential to keep vampires in line. Aro was not the power-hungry, manipulative bastard that Carlisle made him out to be. Yes, he was cunning, shrewd, and secretive to the point that sometimes his brothers didn't know what he was thinking of, but he had no hubris nor greed. He would do whatever necessary to protect the power that he already had, though only for the sake of his family and our world. He knew his authority and flaunted it when necessary, but exclusively when necessary.

I was very thankful to my mother for telling me these insights. It quelled any lingering doubts I had about staying here. I think mom sensed them, and said it to put me at ease. At around 6:00 in the evening, mom teleported us back to the lobby of the castle. When I asked Gianna where everyone else was, she said with a twinkle in her eye, "They are all in the throne room, along with some people who I think you'll be very happy to see again."

As the huge doors groaned and opened, I scanned the room for the one person that I knew by instinct would be inside. "Jasper!" I squealed and rushed into his arms, ecstatic to be in them at last.

* * *

**Ti amo - I love you.**

**Piccolo colomba - little dove**

**Mio amore - my love**

**Dormire bene - sleep well**

**Bambina - child**

**Amato - beloved**

**Cara - dear**

**A/N: So here's the chapter. Did I characterize Athenadora ok? I felt that she and Caius should be polar opposites, in looks and in personality. Caius is very snarky, sarcastic, godly handsome, and downright terrifying when he's in ruler-of-the-vampire-world mode. Athena is bubbly, beautiful, tends to break rules, and absolutely loves to shop. Wonder where Alice got her personality from? *Cough cough* She can take up to 4 people with her when she teleports.**

**Please, please, please review! This is your last chance to tell me your ideas for the trial and what the Cullens' bonds should be with the Volturi. I'd really like to hear from you guys. If you don't like something about it, give me constructive criticism (no flames) please. Your thoughts mean a lot to me!**

**Let me know what you think. Juicy stuff to come in the next chapter. Stay tuned and your patience will pay of soon!**

**Violin1027**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So sorry for the wait, my lovelies! Life got too too hectic. So many violin concerts in different continents. I was traveling constantly and just got home yesterday, so I apologize for the wait! Thank you for waiting patiently!**

**My thanks to my reviewers, followers, and favoriters! Even after I abandoned this story for a little under a month, you guys still do it! Love you guys!**

******My heartfelt gratitude towards my AMAZING beta, flamingpen18! You're the best and my writing would be absolutely atrocious without you *Hugs***

**I will give credit to ideas and finish housekeeping duties at the end of this chapter A/N, I know you have been waiting anxiously for this.**

**Disclaimer: I'm sorry I forgot to put this in the last couple of chapters, but now I remember! Yes, sadly, I don't own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does. I wish I did, but I don't. Now, if she wants to sell me the rights of just Bella and the Volturi, I'm totally good with that :) She can keep Edward's rights, though. I don't want them.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

AlPOV

When I asked Gianna where everyone else was, she said with a twinkle in her eye, "They are all in the throne room, along with some people who I think you'll be very happy to see again."

As the huge doors groaned and opened, I scanned the room for the one person that I knew by instinct would be inside. "Jasper!" I squealed and rushed into his arms, ecstatic to be in them at last.

* * *

EmPOV

For the duration of the plane ride, Esme was in hysterics, and Carlisle was pissed off. Internally, I scoffed. They were so pathetic that I could feel my IQ dropping. When the plane touched down on a private airfield, there was a sleek black limousine waiting for us. There were two red eyed vampires waiting as well. One was of average height. He had brown, spiky hair and laughing eyes. I knew that I would like him. The other one was very tall. He stood at 6'2, looming over the other one. He was all muscle. We assessed each other, each of us being the same build. We realized that we were not a threat to each other, and once I came to that conclusion, I could tell that I had found a kindred spirit in him, possibly a brother. I couldn't wait to see which of us was stronger! These were Felix and Demetri, resident Hulk and expert tracker, respectively.

Demetri scowled at Carlisle and Esme, "Cullen."

Carlisle replied curtly, "Demetri, Felix, I hope that you are well."

Felix got down to business and used the opportunity to poke fun at him. "Quite, though I can't really say the same for you two. Now on a different note, you are a doctor, are you not?"

I could see where he was going with this and grinned. Carlisle, however, did not. "I am. Why?"

"I thought doctors were supposed to be smart and very observant, or did you not notice that you and your wife are fucking SPARKLING?"

I sniggered. He set himself up for that one. In the Italian sunshine, Jaz and I wore hooded, long-sleeved jackets with the hoods up, jeans, and had our hands in our pockets. Rose was wearing a long-sleeved dress with dainty gloves, a silk scarf covering her face, oversized sun glasses over her eyes, and skin-colored tights on with fashionable oxfords. Carlisle and Esme hadn't thought to cover their skin. Idiots.

Carlisle, realizing his grave error, hurried into the limo with Esme hot on his heels. Now that they were not near us, all of us visibly relaxed. Felix said, "Welcome to Volterra. Nice to finally meet you guys!"

Rosalie spoke, "Same here."

Demetri told us, "We really shouldn't keep the kings waiting. Let's move, then you can see Bella and Alice again."

Jasper agreed, "Sounds like a plan."

In the car, Felix jokingly said, "Well, I never thought I'd ever find a vampire with strength almost equal to mine."

"Excuse me? ALMOST equal?! Oh, you're on, bro."

"Let's spar back at the training room. I can't wait to kick your ass, Emmett."

"We'll see. Don't count on winning, Felix. I don't lose in fights like this. Ever."

"Oh, you've got yourself a deal!" We kept trying to psyche each other out, till Rose whacked me on my head.

"Em, Felix, shut up." She had a murderous glare that sent me and Felix cowering in a corner.

Once we got over it, "Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" Felix and I said it at the same time, took one look at each other, and burst out laughing.

* * *

RPOV

Em and Felix were annoying me. I snapped at them to shut up. Then, the nerve of them, they mocked me! I childishly stuck my tongue out at them and said, "Em, you're not kissing me until you apologise."

All the guys sniggered as Carlisle and Esme glared at us. He was immediately contrite. "Sorry, babe. Won't happen again."

"It better not."

Just then, the car pulled up to an enormous castle. "This is Volturi castle," Felix explained.

"No, I thought it was Queen Elizabeth's," Emmett drawled sarcastically. Their rapport was like that of brothers.

We walked in through the gates to the throne room. The leaders were sitting in their thrones, and only Jane and Alec were there.

Aro received us. "_Benvenuti a Volterra_, dear ones! I am Aro. These are Caius and Marcus. It is truly a pleasure to have you here." Aro stood tall and graceful. His happiness was irking me, but oh well. Caius was taller than both the other leaders. His hard eyes bore holes into Carlisle and Esme, but when he looked at us, me, more specifically, they seemingly got softer. Marcus was slumped in his chair, apathetic and bored. When he observed us, he appeared to be concentrating very hard.

Jasper and Em bowed to them. I curtsied. Carlisle and Esme did not. They were absolute idiots. They were lighting the fire to their own deaths.

Carlisle stepped forward, attempting to take control of the situation. "Thank you. Please tell us, why have the Volturi requested an audience with us?"

Marcus, snapping out of his almost catatonic state, decided that it was his time to speak. "Really, Carlisle? Let's get past the formalities. You sired the vampire that exposed us to a human and then left said human, consequently my daughter, in the woods to die of a broken heart! It is the cruelest way to die. I know better than anyone! **(A/N: Poor Marcus.)** Do not even try to make excuses for yourself. As his creator and coven leader, you, your mate, and the mind reader are responsible."

"She is not your daughter, Marcus. She has no ties to anyone in the Italian coven! She belongs with us." I wanted to hit my head against a wall.

"You dare accuse me of lying, Carlisle? Even you know better than that. You have lived with us and know Volturi decorum. She is my daughter, Caius' sister, and Aro's mate. She WILL be your queen, and you WILL respect her and us or so help me God!" His voice spoke of tortures to come, and I could not imagine that this embodiment of rage and power was the same emotionless vampire from before. From the stories, I knew about what happened to Marcus after the death of his mate, Didyme. Bella must have really changed him.

* * *

CPOV

When the remaining Cullens arrived, my gift was put to use for the umpteenth time over the course of my life. What I didn't expect, however, were my findings. Of course, Carlisle and Esme would be enemies. I had not anticipated anything less. Jasper would be my brother. Emmett would be my nephew. It was Rosalie that I was taken aback and overjoyed by. It appeared that fate had given me another daughter! She would trust me unconditionally, as I would her. I did not not know why, but we would. I was careful to school my face into its usual sneer; I could not afford for Carlisle to figure out that the tides had shifted. My brothers had, of course, figured this much out already with Marcus' gift. No doubt he would have showed Aro. By the smile on Aro's face, something he had seen from Marcus had made him happier than usual.

"_Benvenuti a Volterra_, dear ones! I am Aro. These are Caius and Marcus. It is truly a pleasure to have you here." Aro introduced us for the benefit of the younger Cullens. My daughter curtsied to us, and my brother and my nephew bowed. At least Carlisle taught them basic etiquette. It would be necessary here. The coven leaders did neither, the insolent wretches that they were.

Carlisle stepped forwards, attempting to take control of the situation. "Thank you. Please, tell us, why have the Volturi requested an audience with us?"

I opened my mouth to snap at him, but Marcus beat me to the punch. "Really, Carlisle? Let's get past the formalities. You sired the vampire that exposed us to a human and then left said human, consequently my daughter, in the woods to die of a broken heart! It is the cruelest way to die. I know better than anyone! Do not even try to make excuses for yourself. As his creator and coven leader, you, your mate, and the mind reader are responsible."

"She is not your daughter, Marcus. She has no ties to anyone in the Italian coven! She belongs with us," Carlisle growled.

"You dare accuse me of lying, Carlisle? Even you know better than that. You have lived with us and know Volturi decorum. She is my daughter, Caius' sister, and Aro's mate. She WILL be your queen, and you WILL respect her and us or so help me God!" Marcus had never looked more like a vampire king than in that instant, and I was never more proud of him. Bella had brought him out of his shell. Good for him, he deserved some happiness after the death of our dear sister, Didyme.

Carlisle looked down, frightened by seeing an angry Marcus. Esme said nothing, only clung tightly to her mate's arm. She looked like she would faint, were it possible. "Thank you, Marcus. Carlisle, would you like to keep adding to your infractions?" Aro growled, looking positively predatory.

He wisely kept his mouth shut. Smart man. "Good. The trial is tomorrow morning, beginning promptly at 6:00 AM. You must be present as the leader of the Olympic coven, along with your mate. Are we understood?"

Carlisle nodded meekly, still shaken by my eldest brother's fit of temper. Now, it was I who spoke. "Felix, Demetri, show them to their rooms. Give them one of the suites in the guest wing. Jane, Alec, dismissed." The guest wing was located on the same floor as the lobby and the kitchens.

"Yes, master," they answered, then lead Carlisle and Esme away. Jane and Alec felt like training, so they raced each other upstairs. Typical.

"Now that that's settled... we can properly welcome you to Volterra!" We rose to meet them in the middle of the room.

"Thank you, masters," Jasper said respectfully, his southern accent extremely obvious.

"Please, we are not your masters. Do not address us as such," Marcus stated slowly, deliberately.

"But why?" Rosalie, my beautiful daughter asked.

"My gift is that of relationship identification. I can see bonds between people, even if the people haven't discovered their bonds already. Your bonds to us are that of family. What they are, I will wait and tell you once Bella, Alice, and Athenodora are with us. This matter concerns them as well."

While the rest of them made small talk, I talked to Jasper alone and quietly, my cold, almost cruel exterior in place. I knew he could never hurt her because of their mate bond, but still, I needed to be the overprotective father at least once with him. "Jasper, if you so much as hurt a hair on my Alice's head, I will personally make sure Jane tortures you into insanity. Then, I will kill you in the slowest, most excruciating way possible. Make no mistake about it." Maybe it was just my imagination, but I was sure that I heard Jane let out an equally innocent and menacing laugh somewhere else in the castle.

Aro chose that moment to come over to us and start to threaten Jasper about hurting his sister. "Jasper, if you ever make Alice cry... "

"Relax, brother. I just went through that whole lecture."

"Then my work here is done," Aro said, knowing that I was far scarier than he would ever be. I laughed to myself. He went back to join Marcus.

Poor Jasper looked absolutely terrified of me. "Caius, I would never hurt Alice. She has shown me the light in the darkness, and I love her with all of my being." After that statement, he did something that would never cease to amaze me, even to this day. He, through his empathic abilities, showed me the magnitude of his love and devotion towards Alice.

I did something very not Caius-like after that. I hugged him. Everyone else in the room looked at me, mystified. Aro and Marcus interrogated me with their eyes. I shook my head subtly, not noticeable to anyone but them. So that nobody else could hear us, I told him, "Thank you, Jasper. Welcome to the family, brother."

"Brother?" He was confused that I had addressed him as such.

"Yes, Jasper, brother. Now stop being a moron and shut up. I wasn't supposed to tell you that yet."

He shook his head and chuckled under his breath.

Soon, the doors opened, accompanied by a very loud, high-pitched squeal. "Jasper!" That was followed by Alice rushing towards Jasper and tackling him into a hug. He caught her deftly and spun her around, both exhilarated to finally be together. I looked on, convinced that they completed each other fully.

Athena flitted up to me and gave me a chaste kiss on the lips which I quickly turned into a passionate and forceful one. Something about the scene in front of me, with my family complete and my two daughters in the same room, filled me with a strange sense of euphoria. I decided quickly that it was a feeling that I could get used to.

* * *

MPOV

As the females embraced their mates, I sighed. Didyme should have been on the shopping trip with them, and she should be hugging me. I shook my head. It would do me no good to dwell in the past, and I decided that it was time to stop my melancholy. Didyme would not have wanted it.

After greetings were exchanged by all of us, Caius introduced Athena to everyone. "Athena, this is Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper."

"Nice to meet you and welcome to the family!" Athena trilled, excited to meet them.

The three smiled in response. Now, I thought that there was enough suspense, so I breached the much-awaited subject.

"About your bonds..." At those words, they quieted down. "I'll tell you bonds by people. You know Bella's to the three of us, but I'll reiterate. She is my daughter, Caius' and Athena's sister, and Aro's mate. Alice and she are the best of sisters, to the extent that they can predict what the other is going to say and complete the other's sentences like twins. Jasper and Rosalie are her older brother and sister, respectively. Emmett is Bella's brother; however, they are also related by blood."

The room was in an uproar. Caius, in his usual no nonsense fashion, told them to kindly shut up. Oh, the oxymoron.

"Let me explain. Emmett's only sister, the youngest in a family of 7 boys, married Bella's mother's grandfather. Her name was Christine Emily Philips nee McCartney."

Emmett was quiet. Then he exclaimed, "Bellie-boo! We're blood relatives! How awesome is this? You always reminded me of my sister. Now I know why! I knew she married a Philips, but I never had the chance to check on the rest of her family history afterwards." He bounded towards her and enveloped her in a bear hug.

"Em... human... need to... breath..."

He let her go with a sheepish grin. "Sorry, Bells." She smiled at him, quickly pecked him on the cheek, wrapped her arms around his middle, then went back to her place in Aro's arms.

"Right, now continuing. Alice is my niece, Aro's sister, and Caius' and Athena's daughter. She is mated to Jasper, has a very deep bond of sistership with Bella, and has an older brother and sister in Rosalie and Emmett. Nothing we didn't know. Now for the interesting part. Emmett, you are like a brother to Alice, Bella, and Jasper. You and Rose are soul mates. My congratulations, your bond is stunning." The two grinned at each other and clasped their hands together. "Caius and Athena will be like your Aunt and Uncle. Aro will be like a brother to you. Lastly, and most importantly to me," I said, striding up to him, "You are my son." The strength behind his hug caught me off guard. We stayed like that for a while, until I let him go.

"Rose, you are my niece, and I suppose, daughter-in-law. Aro will be your older brother. Caius and Athena are your parents." Caius smiled, a rare thing to be sure and kissed her on the forehead.

"Welcome, my daughter." Athena looked like she would be in tears. Alice skipped over to them as they all fell into a group hug. It warmed my long dead heart.

"Lastly, but just as importantly, Jasper. You will be a brother and trusted confidant to Aro and Caius. To me, you are a son." How interesting. His gift was complementary to my own, an empath and a bond reader. Through his abilities, he projected happiness and love towards me, no doubt triggered from my own emotions.

Aro took charge. "So everyone, welcome. Forgive us for being presumptuous, but my brothers and I did take the liberty to prepare your rooms. We assumed that you would be staying with us permanently."

"Well, duh, Aro," Emmett had spoken. Aro started, not used to being addressed with such modern language, then laughed.

"Then we'll show you to your rooms."

Caius stated, "Rose, follow us." Athena and Caius ran up to their floor with Rose in tow.

Alice stayed with Jasper, and Emmett looked like he wanted to follow his wife. I chuckled, "Emmett, at least let me show you your room, then you can join her."

Aro and Bella wandered off to God knows where, and Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and I trooped up to my floor. I led them to Jasper's room first.

Jasper's room was a dusky blue with brown accents. A guitar collection adorned its walls, as well as memorabilia from the American Civil War, a tribute to his human life. "Thank you, Father. It's perfect," he said.

"Not a problem, my son. Athena helped Alice design it." Alice giggled and nodded, still holding Jasper's hand. They disappeared into his room, so I continued on with Emmett.

"Dad, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Emmett."

"Don't be sad at the trial. Be the Volturi king you are and give Edward hell for me."

That was not what I was expecting. "I will try, Emmett. No guarantees, but he will pay for how he has hurt my daughter. I swear over Didyme's grave."

Didyme. It was the first time I had used her name like that. My face fell. "You miss her." It was not a question; it was a statement.

"Yes, I do. I will miss her, forever and a day. I'm moving on, though. It doesn't hurt as much anymore. Time dulls all pain. I will be alright."

He hugged me, and we walked the rest of the way in silence. "Your room." It was painted a spanish red, a typical man cave. His beloved gaming systems were a centerpiece in the room. "We hope it is to your liking."

"This is sick! I'm so psyched!"

I laughed. "Glad that you are happy, Son. Rest or go find your dear Rose. You have time until tomorrow. A word of advice, no goofy business tomorrow. Best behaviour."

"No worries, dad. Tomorrow is about avenging my Bellie bear. I will personally rip his head off and light his head on fire."

"If the law requires it. Until tomorrow, Emmett."

"See ya, dad. I'm off to find Rose!"

"Em?"

"Yeah?"

"Do me a favour. Don't barge into any rooms, besides Rose's, on Caius' floor."

"Why?"

"You might find yourself with a detached head." He looked comically scared, and I laughed.

* * *

APOV

Bella was sleeping in my room. Alice, Rose, Emmett, Jasper, and Athena were in the gardens. My co-rulers and I were in my study. It had the most law books. Marcus spoke, "We are going to kill him, right?"

"I certainly do hope so," I replied.

"Patience, brothers," Caius stepped in. "Which laws has he broken?"

"Revealing our existence to a human and not changing her or killing her," I said.

"I'm playing devil's advocate. Alice had a vision of him killing her, did she not?" Caius said, frustrated that he had found a loophole in the law.

"But he didn't do it, even though he was prevented from doing it. We can overlook that, because after all, the Volturi make no exceptions," Marcus smirked.

"Besides, she is my mate and future queen. Attacking anyone of royal status is an unwritten law. He's done for. He will die tomorrow," I growled.

"And what about Carlisle and Esme?" Caius sneered their names.

"They are to be punished. They must change their diet. It will be fitting," Marcus spoke with a vengeance.

"They will be nomads and from now on, can't form or join another coven. Their assets will be joined to the Volturi vaults." I was furious at them as well. They would suffer.

"They will be forced to embrace our nature, finally! They were always a threat, living in such close proximity with humans. Now, that is eliminated," Caius agreed.

"If that is decided, it's 5:50. We should get to the throne room soon. It would not bode well if the rulers were late to their own trial," I said.

"Let's go," Marcus said. We ran, albeit leisurely, to the throne room, each of us stewing in our thoughts.

When we arrived, the guard was already there. The rest of our family was on the dias with Bella perched on the arm of my throne and Athena on Caius'. As we entered, a hush fell upon the room and _mio amore_ rose to greet me. I sat down and pulled her onto my lap. She was mine.

* * *

BPOV

I was woken at the ungodly hour of 5:30 in the morning by Jane, who was panicking. "Bella! You only have half an hour until the trial! Get up!" she screeched.

"I'm up. I'm up, Jane," I groaned.

She shoved me into the shower and when I got out of the bathroom, an outfit was laid out for me. It was made of silver satin with a black polka dot print. With its sweetheart neckline, cinched waist, and its knee-length flowing silhouette, it was a masterpiece. It was accompanied by black sheer leggings and black ankle boots. It was elegant and chic; for once, I wanted to wear it.

She did my makeup in silver tones with pale pink lip gloss. A silver jeweled headband adorned my now tamed chocolate tresses, which were done carefully in curls. "You look amazing, Bella!"

"Thanks to you, Jane. Now let's go. I'm really nervous, and I really want to get this over with." My stomach was doing somersaults. Lovely.

"Don't worry. I'm here if you need anything. I asked Aro if I could be your personal guard, and he said... wait for it... yes!"

"Aaaw, Jane, that's sweet! You're an amazing friend."

"I know," she laughed. "Enough with the chit chat. We have to go!" With that, we were off.

When we got to the throne room, the guard was still filing in and Athena, Jaz, Em, Rose, and Alice were already on the dais. Athena was sitting on Caius' throne, so I assumed that I had to do the same on Aro's throne. Jane stayed close to me.

Just then, the kings entered the room, Aro at the head of their formation. He was a panther, graceful and formidable. He moved like a predator, and I was reminded of exactly why he was a king. I stood when he got near his throne, a sign of respect in front of his guard. He breathed, "_Buongiorno, mio tesora_," and caressed my cheek. His voice was silky, resonant, seductive, and never failed to melt my insides. I turned into a puddle right there.

"Aro," I whispered simply. He sat and pulled me on his lap, a display that I was his. And I was, completely and unconditionally.

"Bring forth the criminals," Aro commanded, his voice powerful and authoritative. It was hard for me not to shudder in fear from hearing his tone. It was cold, ruthless, and merciless, a change from the voice he had used with me. My father looked angry, not bored today. Caius looked ready to murder somebody, probably my ex-boyfriend. Alice, Jaz, Em, and Rose were tense but utterly focused and alert. Athena was looking at me anxiously, checking if I was alright. I nodded imperceptibly to any but her, and she turned away, satisfied, and scrutinized her husband.

Edward was dragged in kicking and screaming. Carlisle and Esme walked behind him, resigned to their fate. "Let go of me, you evil bastards!"

It hurt looking at him, so I buried my face in Aro's chest. It gave me a sense of security. I knew that Aro would protect me.

Father spoke, "Felix, Demetri." No other words were needed. They restrained him and all of his resistance was laughably futile against their combined strength.

"Shut up, boy, before I have Jane dear use her power like she so obviously wants to," Caius threatened. Well that made him go quiet. I sniggered quietly. Jane was grinning, but also looked disappointed that she couldn't punish him. I had no doubt, however, that she would use it soon enough.

My mate spoke, his voice echoing through the throne room. "We shall begin the proceedings with Edward Cullen. He is charged with revealing our existence to a human. He has also verbally assaulted and mentally hurt a Volturi royal. What do you plead?"

"Innocent." I scoffed at his response. "I planned to kill her. You saw it Alice's visions." So the lunatic admitted to it. Carlisle and Esme gasped at his confession.

Caius snarled, "But it never happened. And if it had happened, it would have been found out that she was Aro's mate, and you would be killed for hurting a royal. You will not win this battle, Cullen!"

Now, Edward took a different approach. "Bella, I love you! Me thinking of killing you was a mistake! Alice's vision was wrong! It was her own fabrication! Please, love, come with me, and we'll forget this all ever happened. We'll live alone together, until you grow old and die like a human should!"

I was in disbelief. After everything, he still thought that I would forgive him? Father snapped. "You are out of your mind, boy. Alec, immobilize him until we have finished Carlisle and Esme's trial." Alec smirked and did so all too gladly.

Caius started this trial, "Carlisle and Esme Cullen, you are charged as the coven leaders for allowing your coven member and creation to expose our existence to a human. What do you plead?"

After a long silence, possibly 20 minutes or more, Aro was impatient. "Enough games, Carlisle. What do you plead? I will do you no more favors, old friend." The last two words were said with such derision and scorn.

"Guilty," Carlisle sighed. I was shocked. Was it really over so easily?

Suddenly, Alec cried, "Master!"

Edward had broken free of Alec's power. Alec had gotten distracted by the silence and let the fog wander for one millisecond too long. All I saw was an Edward-sized streak heading straight towards me. I screamed, but before he touched me, Aro had him pinned to the wall, and Jane was torturing him.

"I was going to make your death merciful. Now, you will die an agonizing, slow, painful death by my hands. I will show you no compassion. You will die for attempting to go near my mate after all that you have done." Fuckward was screaming like a little girl, writhing in pain. Good. He had cracks around his neck from Aro's hands. Alec had him frozen again.

"Now for Carlisle and Esme. The verdict?"

* * *

**A/N: **

_Benvenuti a Volterra - _Welcome to Volterra

_Buongiorno, mio tesora - _Good morning, my treasure

**I'm sorry, this is going to be long! Now to answer some questions and give credit where credit is due. I already answered these in PMs to the reviewers, but I will answer for the general public. **

1) No, Bella won't get pregnant while she's human. I will tell you, though, that Aro has no sons and daughters from the Cullens for a very specific reason! Juicy stuff to come :)

2) Thanks to _AbbeNormal_ for your idea about Emmett and Bella. I loved it!

3) _My Universe_ gets credit Jasper and Marcus' relationship, also Rosalie and Caius' relationship, and the small mention of Em and Felix. Your review really helped me get my ideas in line!

4) Bella is letting herself be dressed up by everyone because she loves them and its too trivial a battle to fight. You have to let some things go. Besides, Volturi do have etiquette and protocol. Bella realizes that she does need to follow them, these traditions are older than time itself. Seeing as she doesn't know them, Jane, Alice, and Athena help her.

5) Someone PMed me about the wives being locked in the tower with tight security. It's an AU! My AU, to be precise, so they aren't locked in a tower. So yeah, please don't PM me about my story being AU. It's fanfiction!

6) Another person PMed me about me condemning Esme and Carlisle. I'm sorry for all of their fans, I'm a huge fan. They just had to go, though. There was no room for them in this story :( It kills me to do it. Can you imagine 3 kings + 2 mates + 4 princes/princesses + Carlisle & Esme? They don't fit. Besides that, I have to explore the Elite Guard as well.

**Now some humble requests for you guys regarding coming chapters. Here's what I desperately need your input on, my delightful readers. This is imperative to the coming chapters because I'm still undecided.**

a) What are Bella's powers going to be? In my mind, I have decided that she will definitely be a mental shield and there is another power that will be important later on, but do you guys have any suggestions? I am open to them.

b) The Cullen's diet. Should they continue being vegetarian or become human drinkers? I have a preference, but I want you guys to tell me what you want and (possibly) sway me to the other side. I'll come to the other side if you give me cookies :D Jasper will definitely still feed from animals, if not always, then sometimes because of his gift. I feel sorry for him if he has to feel the terror that his victims feel all the time. Although there is a way to remedy to that... I don't know. Let me know!

c) Bella's diet. Human or animals? This one I have really no clue. On one hand, she won't like drinking from humans because of her conscience, but on the other, she will be seen as a sort of weak leader if she doesn't and Caius probably won't be accepting of it. Same issue if the Cullens are to remain vegetarian. Gaaah! What to do? You decide!

d) The wedding and coronations! I think I need to hire a planner to help me plan those two, I'm clueless :) The wedding will be small, but the coronation will be HUGE! Royal splendor galore! Help me, please! I am not good with these sorts of things.

e) Any other plot bunnies/requests you guys have. I will be happy to take them into consideration, because they help me a lot.

f) This is a long shot, but I want Didyme back. Marcus is too lonely, even if he now has everyone else and three kids. Is there any plausible way to make this happen? Would you guys like to see it happen? I don't want him to have another mate, their love is too strong for Marcus to throw it away like that. Just a thought, but I don't know how to do it if I have already clearly stated that she was mauled by werewolves.

**I wanted to point out to you guys that Caius and Rosalie are bonded like that because of their pasts. It's difficult for them both to trust because of their human lives. Again, thanks to My Universe for pointing it out. Besides that, Rose and her parents look related. She gets blond hair from them, her height from Caius, her model-like figure and fashion sense from Athena, and her overall stunning good looks from both of them. Let's face it, Caius is the most handsome out of all the Volturi leaders. **

**Finally (yes, really finally after this terribly long A/N), thank you so much for reading! ****I'm sorry for not having a lot of AroXBella in this one, but it had to be done. ** Please, please, please let me know what you think by reviewing or PMing me. They make me incredibly giddy when I see them :D I can't wait to know your thoughts on this super important chapter!

**Violin1027**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm back! Finally! I just got back 3 days ago and then wrote (once I got over my horrible jet lag). So thanks for sticking with me. I was thrilled with the amount of reviews that I got last chapter and am hoping the trend continues. I'm so very happy that people still favorited and followed and reviewed after my two month long absence. Yay! *Does little happy dance inside***

**Thanks to my wonderful beta, flamingpen18! I sent her this chapter yesterday afternoon asking if she could finish it before today 3:00 PM, and she did it, even though she was not feeling well! Hugs and kisses! I really do love you :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. *Goes and cries in a corner with a gallon of ice cream* Stephanie Meyer does.**

**So without further ado, on with the story! See you at the bottom!**

* * *

BPOV

Edward had broken free of Alec's power. Alec had gotten distracted by the silence and let the fog wander for one millisecond too long. All I saw was an Edward-sized streak, heading straight towards me. I screamed, but before he touched me, Aro had him pinned to the wall, and Jane was torturing him.

"I was going to make your death merciful. Now, you will die an excruciatingly slow and painful death by my hands. I will show you no compassion. You will die for attempting to go near my mate after all that you have done." Fuckward was screaming like a little girl, writhing in pain. Good! He had cracks around his neck from Aro's hands. Alec had him frozen again.

"Now for Carlisle and Esme. The verdict?"

* * *

APOV

"Wait, Aro." It was my darling Bella.

"What is it, amore?"

"You haven't read their minds yet." She was a firm believer in justice. She was right, of course. I could not hang a verdict above their heads without reading Carlisle's mind.

I fluidly rose from my throne and made my way to where Carlisle was standing with his head down, resigned to his face. I grabbed his hand firmly in between mine and was amazed by the depth of the feelings that assaulted my senses. Regret, remorse, and anguish were all directed towards how he had treated Bella. These feelings convinced me to lessen their punishment.

I let Carlisle's hand and then asked Alec to incapacitate him and his mate. It would do no good for them to listen to their fate. I conferred with my family to decide upon a sentence.

Caius told us, "They are not our enemies. They mean us no harm." I nodded, confirming his opinions.

Marcus, being the eldest, took charge. "If they truly have no malicious intent, then we will lessen the punishment. We were planning to originally force them to become nomadic, change their diet, merge their assets with ours, and never form or join another coven. Given the circumstances, it seems too harsh. I cannot bring myself to make them change their diet now. It is cruel to make Carlisle go against his morals."

Athena agreed. "I agree. I propose that they must become nomads for 100 years. They would never be able to form another coven, but they could join a pre-existing one. After their exile period, they would be free to return to their way of living. If you don't want to give them this choice, they can serve us for the next 100 years. The second part of the punishment stays the same."

"Isabella, can you deal with them being in the castle?" This was asked by Jasper, who had, no doubt, sensed her hesitation. I felt it through the bond. There was no question that the first option was more preferable to her.

"I… don't know… I need time. I'm not sure if I can forgive them yet for leaving me behind so easily. Thank you for lessening the severity of their sentence, though. I don't want them to be hurt. I still care for them."

I caressed her cheek softly, comforting her. "They will be nomads." Caius and Marcus inclined their heads in assent. "Alec, release them."

As Alec's mist floated away, Carlisle and Esme stirred as if waking from a deep sleep. Marcus declared, "Carlisle, we have evidence of your regret, so we are granting you and your mate a pardon. You will become nomads for 100 years but can keep your vegetarian diet. After this time, you may join another coven but can never form another one on your own or create another vampire. Our decision is final."

Esme's face was relieved but still heavy with guilt. Carlisle's head snapped up, surprised by the light sentence. Slowly, a half-hearted smile appeared on his face. "Thank you for the mercy you have granted us."

"It is not because we were friends, Carlisle. That time is long past. You have shown regret and that is enough. We are not as unkind as you think us to be." He was taken aback. I laughed evilly. "Did you think I wouldn't know what you thought about us? That I would not know the lies you have been feeding your coven members in the hopes that they wouldn't leave you alone to join us? Be grateful that you weren't executed."

"I apologize, Aro. I was selfish."

My answering glare bore holes into his body. "Yes, you were."

Timidly, Esme interrupted. "I know this may be a bad time, but can we talk to Bella?"

I tensed at her question, turning around to look at my mate. She was a deer caught in headlights, trapped and startled. From her emotions, I knew she didn't want to talk to them, so I answered for her. "No, you may not. She has enough to deal with besides you troubling her. She will forgive you when and if she is ready. Until such a time, you will have no interactions with her unless absolutely necessary," I finished menacingly, furious that she had managed to upset my beautiful wife-to-be. "Felix, escort them out. They are not welcome here."

Caius threatened them as they left, "The Volturi give no second chances." The new additions to our family watched the pair of them leaving with indifference.

Now came the fun part. "Demetri, Santiago, grab him. Alec, that's enough." All of a sudden, Cullen awoke and started to struggle uselessly.

"Edward Cullen, you are charged with revealing our existence to a human and not killing or turning her. You are also charged with attempting to injure a royal. We have all the evidence we need. You are guilty."

"I am not! I was going to kill her before the moronic pixie brought my snack here! Then she met you, you bastard, but she will never belong to you! She was mine, and her blood was mine from the first moment I laid my eyes on her. I won't let you have her blood! It is mine and mine alone!"

Bella was looking on, appalled. Alice and Jane were at her side, hissing at Cullen's tirade. Everyone on the dais were incensed at the scene before them. Marcus growled, "You are sentenced to death. Mark my words, boy, I will take pleasure in hearing your screams as I light you on fire. My daughter has been severely hurt because of you, and for that, you will die!"

Jane, sensing that now was the perfect time to exact her own revenge for her friend, tortured him once more. She did not stop, not when Caius and I approached him. In a swift, powerful movement, I held his detached head in my hands. Caius took his anger out on the rest of Cullen's body, leaving it torn and unrecognizable. Venom a light shade of indigo, seeped onto the floor from the pile of limbs, looking grotesquely like a river. I tossed his cursing and terrified head onto the pile violently. He appealed to his former siblings. "We've spent years being together! You can't throw it all away!"

Jasper snarled, "Years of being manipulated by you!"

Alice, in an uncharacteristic show of hatred, growled, "I hope you rot in the deepest bowels of hell, Fuckward."

Rose looked down her nose at him, a scowl on her face. "You stole a sister from me. I will never forgive you for that."

Emmett was extremely angry. "When you mess with Bella, you mess with me, asshole. Have fun burning, golden boy."

Seeing it would not work, in a last ditch attempt, he pleaded with my mate. "Please, Bella! What about all of the memories we have?"

"Exactly, Edward. They are memories. History. Finished. This," she gestured to him, "is not the Edward that I knew. I loved that Edward, not this one. Aro is my mate. My place is with him. It was never with you, and I was a fool not to realize it. Goodbye, Edward. I hope you feel a fraction of the pain I felt when you abandoned me in the forest." Marcus lit the pile with a flame. The horrible sounds of metal on metal and a horrified wails filled the air. Finally, there was silence as the sickly sweet smell of a vampire burning lingered in the room. It was over.

* * *

BPOV

I didn't know what to think when he died. I was relieved, I suppose. A part of me was sad to see him go. He was my first love, after all. For that reason, I would have a place in my heart for him, but he had caused me enough suffering for this lifetime and the next. I gladly watched him burn.

I watched Alice, Jaz, Em, and Rose. I could tell that they wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Any affection that they had once held for him was long gone. Their loyalties laid with us. For that, I was grateful.

After 'The Burning', Aro embraced me tightly. "Are you alright, tesoro?"

"Never better, Aro. I'm happy he's gone."

"As am I, cara."

Caius said, "Everyone dismissed, once you dispose of this filth." Alec swept the ashes into the drain, then all the guards left. Jane hugged me one last time and then took her leaver.

Caius and Father came up to me and kissed me on my head. "We're so proud of you, cara," Father said.

"Thank you, Father. It's over now. That's the most important thing."

"Indeed, piccola. You must be quite tired."

"Not really."

"In that case, Gianna says that we have a visitor. Are you up for it?" Aro asked.

"Why not?"

Retaking our places on or near the thrones, Caius called, "Send her in."

* * *

MPOV

A tall, lithe red haired vampire walked into the room. As I looked at her bonds, I was very surprised. All but one of her bonds were with humans. There was one of gratitude with a vampire, but that was the only bond that she had with a vampire. How curious. She was remarkably controlled for a newborn, for she could only be a newborn. Caius looked absolutely stunned.

Aro greeted her. "Welcome, dear one. I am Aro. These are my brothers Marcus and Caius, my mate, Bella, Caius' mate, Athenodora, and my brothers and sisters, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, and Alice. What is your name and what business do you have here?"

She hesitated. "I have a… rather unique… power." We were all intrigued. Now she looked directly at me. "I can bring only one person or vampire back from the dead. After doing so, I will turn back into a human with no recollection of the vampire race." If she was insinuating what I thought she was… She proceeded to tell us her story. "I was changed into a vampire by a vampire 2 months ago. I wandered far from human civilization around North America until I met Eleazar. He taught me how to become vegetarian and said I was wonderfully composed for being born only days ago. I was crushed when he said that I wouldn't be able to return home to my husband and my one month old son. I started asking him how to kill myself when he told me to wait. By using his power, he was able to tell what mine was. I was thrilled of course, and knew exactly where to go. During my stay with Eleazar, he told me of you, the Volturi. From whatever I remember, though, I don't recall there being quite so many of you."

Caius responded, "They joined us not two days before." He had a smile on his face.

"That explains it. Anyway, he told me of each of you. You, Master Marcus, caught my attention. The one who had and lost the greatest love of all time. I cried when Eleazar told me of Didyme. I knew that with my gift, I only wanted to give you your mate back."

I had venom tears pooling in my eyes. "You would do this for me?"

"I was touched. I wanted to bring back a person who will be loved. She will be by you and everyone else in this coven." As an afterthought, she added, "Your children deserve the chance to know their mother. I also don't want my child to suffer this fate, and that is another reason why I'm doing this. I want nothing more than to become human again, and I'm just happy that I will be able to reunite a couple before becoming one again." I was in a surreal state of shock and joy.

Suddenly, a bright pink glow emitted from her. Her hair flew wildly in all directions as she began to rise from the ground. Strong winds tumbled around the the room as another person began to materialize beside her. Standing there with black, straight hair, aristocratic features, tall, and perfect was Didyme. My Didyme. The love of my life. Once it was over, we rushed into each other's arms, together at last. We were both crying as we kissed each other passionately, making up for thousands of lost years. I dimly registered Gianna escorting the now human out of our castle. I realized that we had never gotten her name. It didn't matter, though, because Didyme was here in my arms, and I in hers.

After our dance of tongues, she caressed my cheek. "Oh, Marcus… How long has it been?"

"Over two thousand years, my love, but you're here now. That's all that I've ever needed in my life. I love you, my dear."

"And I you, Marcus, more than you will ever know." We slowly turned to face the rest of the family. Everyone was looking on with tears. Bella's were streaming down her face.

She ran to Aro and embraced him. "Brother!"

"Sister, I've missed you terribly. It's so nice to have you back."

She moved to Caius. "Caius, you haven't been terrorizing too many vampires in my absence, have you?" Looking to Athena, "Has he?"

"He has, sister. What to do? He's Caius." Athena kissed Didyme on the cheek. "It's wonderful to have you back. I'm very happy!"

Caius ruffled her hair. "You weren't there to keep me in check, sorellina, but now you are. It's good to have you back in the land of the undead." We all chuckled.

She eyed our new family. "Sister, this is Bella, my mate," Aro explained.

"Your mate? When did this happen, Aro?"

"Two days ago."

Bella smiled tentatively, and Didyme hugged her. "My daughter! I never dreamed that I would have a daughter. You are beautiful, cara."

"Thank you, Mother," my daughter replied and returned Didyme's gesture.

We introduced her to Jasper, Rose, Emmett, and Alice. To Jasper and Emmett, she cried, "I have missed so much of your lives, my sons. I will not miss anymore of it." To her nieces, she kissed them and then said, "If your grouch of a father is ever surly with you, tell me, and I will punch him hard for you." She always did love to tease Caius, I fondly remembered.

We all laughed at Caius' expense while he said indignantly, "I'm not that bad!"

"Yes, you are, dear," Athena chuckled.

"So how did you lot get here?" Didyme asked the new additions to our family,

I told her as gently as possible, knowing she would explode. I was correct. "How dare that moronic vampire hurt my daughter? I will kill him!" She flew into a rage.

"Calm down, cara. He's dead. I lit him on fire myself just a couple of hours ago."

Then she started to scold me. "So you couldn't wait two hours until I became alive again? Just 120 minutes? 7200 seconds? I want to kill him! How could you deprive me of something like that? And you! Aro, Caius, and Athena! Couldn't you stop him? I missed it by two hours?!"

Bella, Alice, Jasper, Rose, and Em were trying to hold in their laughter and failing. The rest of us were not sure how to react. Didyme was always scary when she was angry. "We didn't exactly know that you would be gracing us with you lovely presence, sister," Caius snarked.

She laughed the laugh that made me fall in love with her. It was the chiming of bells, the sweet song of sparrows, and the music of angels into one sound. "Maybe I did overreact a little," she smiled sheepishly.

"Just a bit," Caius agreed sarcastically. Everyone was outright laughing now.

Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of something shiny on Bella's left hand. I narrowed my eyes and growled, "Aro." He flinched, wary of my tone. "Care to explain what the shiny thing on Bella's left hand is?"

"Well... it's an... enga... ng..." The last part was so muffled that we couldn't hear it properly.

I smirked, "What was that, little brother?"

Bella spoke, saving her cowering mate. "It's an engagement ring."

As the females converged on Bella, asking for details and groaning that they had not seen it earlier, I rounded on Aro. "And you were going to tell me this when?"

He laughed feebly, "I was planning to ask, but it was a spur of the moment thing."

I truly felt like myself now as I lifted by his collar and terrorized him. "If my daughter is ever hurt by you, I will not care that you are my brother. I will tear you apart and light you on fire like I did with Cullen today. Make no mistake about it." Poor Aro looked traumatized. I laughed to myself. That was exhilarating.

"Point duly noted, brother."

Then I left him to the mercy of Caius, Jasper, and Emmett. He mouthed, "Help me!" I shook my head and walked away. He deserved this for not telling me that he and my daughter were getting married. Bastard.

* * *

DPOV

My daughter was getting married. In a week. To my brother. In a week! I had a panic attack. "We have so much to do in such little time!"

Alice, Athena, and Rose vehemently agreed. Athena proclaimed, "Ladies, we have some work today." We dragged Bella out of the room, after hastily saying bye to everyone else in the room.

Jane and Heidi joined us. They were stunned when they saw me. "Mistress Didyme?"

I gave them a quick rundown of previous events then got into wedding planned mode. We used Caius and Athena's floor as a base. Athena had her own fashion/interior design studio there, a very large one.

Most importantly, we started the guest list. "Bella, is this a big or small wedding?"

"Small, and before you complain, Aro plans to make the coronation ball a big thing, so small wedding is fine." We grudgingly agreed to her idea and started designing it. Obviously, the Volturi, the Egyptian coven, the Denalis, and the Irish covens were invited. We also invited Peter and Charlotte, Jasper's good friends. Alice said that Charlotte and Bella would be great friends. Once the invitation was made, we sent them out as fast as possible. The covens needed time to plan.

After that was done, we picked out colors for the wedding. We settled for navy blue being the main color, lilac and white being the primary accents, and pastel green being the secondary accent. Navy blue was Aro's favorite color and was a very powerful color. Lilac and white lightened the severity of navy blue, and the green gave it some more color. Bella was happy with the color choices. Everything was in the process of being designed.

Our only problem was Bella's dress. Every picture we showed her, there was something wrong with it. Finally, Athena and Alice got fed up. "We'll go shopping soon. You need to try these dresses on. Then we can convince you to like one of them."

Bella groaned at the thought of shopping.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Sorellina - little sister**

**Cara - dear**

**Amore - love**

**Tesoro - treasure**

**A huge thanks to dramaqueen1917 for her wonderful idea about Didyme's reappearance. It was genius! I could have never thought of that on my own. Thanks again to everyone else who gave their ideas, I read each one and consider it.**

**So... Edward's dead! Anyone else want to party besides me? And Didyme's reunited with Marcus. Another reason to party! Let me know what you guys think. Review, review, review, pretty please with a cherry on top!**

**Violin1027**


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